Bible vs Money

Questions · Giving

Should I still give while I am in debt?

Updated 2026-07-31 · Sources: 3

The straight answer

Give, and keep paying. Most readers find no pause button in Scripture for either one, and treating them as rivals is where most people go wrong.

Repayment is a moral obligation, not merely a contractual one: the wicked borrow and do not repay is a moral verdict, and Paul tells believers to leave no obligation outstanding. So giving is not a reason to underpay a creditor. Somebody is owed that money and is waiting for it.

But the churches Paul praises most for generosity were in deep poverty when they gave, and the widow with two coins had less margin than you do. Nothing in Scripture suggests generosity waits for solvency. What Scripture does not do is set the amount, so a smaller percentage during payoff, given consistently and on purpose, is a faithful answer rather than a compromise.

Two practical notes. First, if you cannot both give and pay minimums, the problem is the budget, not the giving; that is the number to change. Second, giving during payoff protects something the payoff itself can quietly cost you: debt has a way of turning a household inward, and a gift each month is a standing argument that the money was never the point.

The passages

Printed in full from the public-domain World English Bible, resolved from a local copy of that text before this page was built. Read them before you take our summary on trust, and see how we read Scripture on money for the ten rules every page here follows.

Psalm 37:21 (WEB)

The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back, but the righteous give generously.
Psalm 37:21 · World English Bible, public domain

Not repaying is named as wickedness. Repayment is moral, not merely legal.

Romans 13:8 (WEB)

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:8 · World English Bible, public domain

Leave no obligation outstanding. Read carefully: most take this as about unpaid debt rather than a ban on borrowing, though some read it more strictly (see the debt question).

2 Corinthians 8:1-15 (WEB)

1Moreover, brothers, we make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the assemblies of Macedonia; 2how that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their generosity. 3For according to their power, I testify, yes and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord, 4begging us with much entreaty to receive this grace and the fellowship in the service to the saints. 5This was not as we had expected, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God. 6So we urged Titus, that as he had made a beginning before, so he would also complete in you this grace. 7But as you abound in everything, in faith, utterance, knowledge, all earnestness, and in your love to us, see that you also abound in this grace. 8I speak not by way of commandment, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity also of your love. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich. 10I give a judgment in this: for this is expedient for you, who were the first to start a year ago, not only to do, but also to be willing. 11But now complete the doing also, that as there was the readiness to be willing, so there may be the completion also out of your ability. 12For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have. 13For this is not that others may be eased and you distressed, 14but for equality. Your abundance at this present time supplies their lack, that their abundance also may become a supply for your lack; that there may be equality. 15As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
2 Corinthians 8:1-15 · World English Bible, public domain

Churches in deep poverty gave first and asked for the privilege. Generosity does not wait for margin.

Proverbs 3:27-28 (WEB)

27Don’t withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it. 28Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again; tomorrow I will give it to you,” when you have it by you.
Proverbs 3:27-28 · World English Bible, public domain

Do not tell a person you owe to come back tomorrow when you have it with you today.

Weighed by the Book

CommandedWhat Scripture commands
  • Repay what you owe; do not leave obligations outstanding (Psalm 37:21; Romans 13:8).
  • Give, having decided the amount yourself (2 Corinthians 9:7).
WisdomWise application, not command
  • A smaller percentage held steadily through payoff beats a paused one you never restart.
  • If giving and minimum payments cannot both fit, treat the budget as the problem to solve.
FreedomWhere faithful people differ
  • How much to give while in payoff, and whether to lower it temporarily.

Go deeper

Sources

  1. World English Bible (WEB), public domain: the text printed in full on this page (USFX source, seven1m/open-bibles)
  2. BibleGateway: 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 in context
  3. CFPB: Debt collection and repayment basics