Zero Down, Zero Interest

I

 never knew buying a car could be so easy!!  I always remember my mom and dad discussing the purchase of a new car and the endless car payments that came with it.  Nothing about this process seemed fun or easy at the time, especially for my mom.  But today things are very different, or at least they seem to be.  It is impossible to watch television without being bombarded by dealers wanting you to buy a new car from them. They have great rates, can work with almost any credit rating, and they promise to do whatever it takes to get you behind the wheel of a new automobile.

My personal favorites are the commercials offering new cars for zero money down and zero interest for the life of the loan.  I usually stop what I’m doing just to try and do the math in my head.  On the surface, it seems that the dealerships are rendering a great service to the consumer.  But somewhere along the way, they are making money. The bottom line is that the consumer, in one way or another, is making up for the dealer’s revenue loss from the low interest rate on the loan.  You don’t get something for nothing; it’s just a basic principle in business.

Would it surprise to learn that the no-interest-loan is not a new concept?  In fact, it is the way God intended all along.  He instructed His people to lend without interest to those in need because when God gives, He does so freely with no strings attached. However, there is a place in the Old Testament where a man named Araunah tried to offer King David a very good deal on a threshing floor.  The terms were very easy, zero down, zero interest, and zero payments.  David, however, refused the deal and his decision provides our lesson today.

In 2 Samuel 24:24 we read, “Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing."  David’s battle days were over and Israel enjoyed peace all around.  The king wanted to construct the Temple so people could come and worship God.  God, however, refused David’s request.  God would not permit anyone with blood on his hands to build the temple.  David had been involved in war and was guilty of adultery and murder.  So God did not let him build the temple.  However, God did permit David to make all the preparations so his son, Solomon, could build it.

This passage of scripture marks the transaction where David purchases the plot of land where the temple will stand.  Araunah owned the land and wanted to donate it to the king so that David could prepare for the temple.  David, however, would not agree to Araunah’s generous terms.  David did not believe his relationship with God should only move in one direction.  He wanted to actively participate in God’s work, so he bought the land from Araunah.

What a wonderful example this is for us today.  David’s question is right on target and cuts to the heart of our relationship with God.  David knew that following God would entail cost.  He also knew that the more of himself he placed in God’s hands, the more of God’s love, grace, mercy, and joy he would receive.  He also knew that when making an investment, interest is a very good thing.  If you put no money into the bank, you will earn no interest on your money.  Zero down, zero interest, it’s just that simple.

Far too often, we live the Christian life cutting deals like the car salesman in the television ad.  We want to put little or nothing into our relationship with God and we certainly don’t want to pay any interest into it.  Yet, we expect God to generously meet our needs and our WANTS.  We get upset, disappointed, and downright angry when God doesn’t answer our prayers in the way we think they should be answered and heaven forbid we should ever face any challenges in life.

We want to pay zero down, zero interest, and receive 100%.  It just doesn’t add up, does it? David wanted to sacrifice for the Lord. He knew how much God had promised him and how much God had blessed him during his life.  For him to give back to the Lord that which required no effort or sacrifice on his part, meant that he would actually give nothing to God.  Had David accepted the terms, it would have been Araunah making the sacrifice, not David.

A

s we walk the threshing floor of life today, let us ask ourselves these probing questions.  Are we living our lives for God by paying zero down and zero interest?  Are we offering to the Lord for His work that which costs us nothing?