Credit crunch compassion

The credit crunch is not just a factor of modern life. Even in the desert there were lenders who made life difficult for borrowers; some going as far as literally taking the coat off another’s back. “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not charge any interest. If you take your neighbour’s cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before sun down; for it may be your neighbour’s only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbour cries out to Me, I will listen, for I am compassionate”, (Exodus 22:25-27). God identifies Himself throughout His word with the poor and socially marginalised in financial as well as spiritual terms. While poor people may be disowned as feckless and irresponsible by society, God owns them…