For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and
count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest after he has laid
the foundation, and is not about to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’.
Luke 14 v 28
You have borrowed as much as the banks allowed and bought a lovely house with
affordable repayments over the next 25 years. Have you fully considered the
cost? What would happen if the interest rate on your loan increased to 10% or
even 18% like it did in NZ in 1988?
What would happen to your church giving? Would you still be able to afford
your mortgage repayments? What would happen if you couldn’t? Can you trust
your bank to sell your home at a fair price?
In 1988, when New Zealand interest rates soared to 18-22%, many New
Zealanders discovered that the easily-managed mortgage they thought they had,
was now crippling them financially. Giving dropped and missionaries had to
return home as churches could no longer support them. Virtually overnight, many
families could no longer cope and were forced to sell their homes in order to
pay back their mortgages. The Auckland residential property market fell
dramatically due to the number of forced sales. Some, who had purchased on low
deposit, found that their house was worth less than their mortgage! Yet at the
time they took out their mortgage they could easily make the repayments.
The cost of contributing to Liberty Trust is fixed. It will not change due to
world instability or rising interest rates for we do not borrow at interest to
lend. The Trustees donate their time and make no profit for themselves.
Your donation is lent and re-lent, recycled many times over and will keep on
assisting many more until Christ returns.
Part Two: Servant to the Lender
The Cost of Borrowing
