In My Opinion
By L.N.P.

"A Small Tale "

This is a small tale. But there is nothing small about the man at its center, or about the action he took. In fact, that part of the tale is huge, in ways that will probably transcend the telling. Still, it needs to be told.

Months ago I wrote about an amazing business opportunity that was provided to us at just the right time in our lives. To us it was part of God's plan; we had struggled through some very difficult times, experienced financial hardships, learned the difference between having what you need and what you want and, ultimately, we'd turned our lives and our business over to God. Of course, it was all His from the beginning; we'd just never really understood that. Once we did, surrender was obvious. Besides, we figured God would do a better job than we'd done.

The business opportunity did require some up front capital. Our partner had it. We didn't. So together we contemplated a list of potential investors–people who might be willing to loan us $15,000 for a large return on their investment. We knew we had to make the offer extremely attractive; we needed the money fast, and we weren't offering a partnership or shares in the company…just a hefty return. We came up with three or four people we knew had the resources to make the loan and whom we thought might find our offer of a 50% ROI appealing. What we were saying was: you loan us $15,000 now, and over the course of the year, we will repay you with $22,500. Not a bad deal.

Except that the person had to totally trust us in order to take it. Even though we knew with almost 100% certainty that we could guarantee the loan, all we were providing was a piece of paper and our word…no business plan, no balance sheets, nothing that would really cut it with an experienced investor. In our hearts we knew the deal was as close to risk-free as humanly possible, but EVERYONE says that. Who would be willing to risk their money on us, especially with our lousy track record. Three people, as it turns out. Three people were willing to take the risk in the hopes of making that large a profit. We had to choose wisely, and we asked God to guide us. We chose the man who asked the least number of questions. His trust in us was clear, but it was his faith in God that made the choice so easy.

Over the last seven months we have faithfully repaid him his principal, and our last payment began the interest on the loan. Our gratefulness to him has been unwavering.

Then, the other day we received the following email:

Jim,

I received your check today for $2,500.00. Thank you.

I have decided after prayer and the impressions that the Lord has put on my mind and heart that the 50% interest is too much to be paid to me by you. My thoughts are that if I had put the money in an investment account for these past months, I would have made no more that 7% to 10%.  I know that there was a risk of my losing the $15,000.00 from the beginning but I felt that you as a Christian Brother in the Lord had integrity and would see that I at least got back what you borrowed from me.  Remember I have done business with you for many years in the past and I know what type of man you are.

Anyway, I am accepting only the 10% for the use of the money and forgiving you the balance remaining.  I will be sending you back a check for $1,000.00 tomorrow from the check I just received.

Thanks for your friendship and for all the work you did for us on our old website. We love you both.

How does one react to such a thing? For starters, my husband and I shed tears upon reading his email. Our immediate thought was that we couldn't accept; we had made a deal and we intended to honor it. But then, almost as quickly we realized we had no choice; this was between him and his Lord, and we could not, in fact had no right, to take away the blessing that was his.

Still, I want my readers to understand this on a deeper level. It wasn't the forgiving of the loan that touched us so deeply; it was the reason for forgiving it. You see, this wasn't merely a gift or a “refund” of $6000. That would be incredible enough. This was a decision based on the strongest of moral values, on clearly articulated Biblical principles that so convicted this man that he was more desirous of pleasing God than making a profit , even a profit he was entitled to by mutual agreement. But he put his agreement with God's Word over his agreement with man.

We don't know anyone else who would have made such a decision. We don't know if we ourselves could have made it; we can only hope that if tested we would. What we do know is that this man has set a standard for us that we will strive, forever, to match. He has earned our eternal love and respect. But what is more important to him is that he has earned the respect of his Maker; the One in whose image he most assuredly was made.

Send me your opinions at LParis@netlistings.com