Lending

It’s interesting how Jesus returns to this idea of generosity without expectation, isn’t it? His words in Luke 6:35 – “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return” – challenge conventional wisdom.

It strikes me that Jesus isn’t just talking about financial transactions. While the word “lend” might initially bring to mind money, perhaps he’s using it as a broader metaphor for all forms of giving and support.

Consider the earlier biblical caution against being a borrower or lender. Human experience often bears this out in the realm of finance, where expectations of repayment can easily lead to strained relationships when those expectations aren’t met.

However, Jesus seems to be shifting the focus entirely. By saying “expecting nothing in return,” he flips the script on why we lend in the first place. It’s no longer about a transaction with an anticipated outcome for ourselves, but about the act of giving itself.

 In the world of commerce, the principles are different, and my banker friends think the concept of lending without expecting repayment is nuts.  But in the realm of human relationships, especially as Jesus envisions them, a different ethic applies.

Perhaps Jesus is urging us to “lend” in a multitude of ways:

• Lending a hand: Offering practical assistance to someone in need without expecting them to immediately reciprocate.
• Lending a meal: Sharing our resources with someone who is hungry, not as a loan to be repaid, but as an act of compassion.
• Lending the shirt off our back: Demonstrating extreme generosity, even at personal cost, without any thought of personal gain.
• Lending our time: Giving our attention and support freely, without expecting a favor in return.

In this light, Jesus’s teaching becomes less about financial prudence and more about a radical form of selfless love and generosity that transcends transactional expectations. It’s about giving freely, not because we anticipate a return, but because it reflects the very nature of love he calls us to embody.

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About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.