The Bible frequently forbids charging interest (often termed "usury") on loans made to fellow believers in need, viewing it as an act of injustice and lack of compassion. Old Testament laws specifically prohibited charging interest to poor Israelites, though they permitted it for foreigners. The focus is on protecting the vulnerable, not necessarily all commercial transactions.
According to Leviticus 25:37, “You shall not lend [your brother] your money at interest.” Exodus 22:25 stipulates” “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.” Deuteronomy 23:20 says much the same thing about loans ...
The usual answer is something like, “It's okay to have hobbies if they aren't sinful.” For example, gotquestions.org concludes this. So yes, Christians can have hobbies, but we have to make sure they never replace Christ. That is the temptation, and we must be sure to avoid it. That's true.
Deuteronomy 23:19–20 – “Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest.” Psalm 15:5 describes a righteous person as one “who lends money to the poor without interest.”
For the most part, Christians have concluded that interest is not inherently prohibited in modern societies, but that lending practices— including interest rates and collateral—must not take advantage of vulnerable people or make people destitute.
There's no single #1 worst sin; it depends on the religious or moral framework, but pride is often called the root of all evil (Christianity/Islam), while the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (unforgivable sin) is considered the gravest in the Bible. Other severe sins include child abuse (Catholicism) and sins that "cry to Heaven" (like shedding innocent blood or oppressing the poor).
Passions and sins are not the same
The Church uses these terms very deliberately to describe two entirely separate things. Essentially, a passion is a desire or predilection, while a sin is the result of giving in to that desire.
Bible. The Old Testament "condemns the practice of charging interest on a poor person because a loan should be an act of compassion and taking care of one's neighbor"; it teaches that "making a profit off a loan from a poor person is exploiting that person (Exodus 22:25–27)."
Proverbs 17:22 states, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones," meaning a joyful attitude promotes health and well-being, while persistent negativity and despair are damaging to both the mind and body, affecting physical vitality. It highlights the strong connection between one's inner emotional state (heart/spirit) and physical health, suggesting that inner happiness acts like healing medicine, while a broken spirit weakens a person.
A set of Islamic principles—based on the goal of providing economic justice for all—prohibits Muslims from paying or receiving interest during financial transactions. Some Jewish and Christian groups face a similar prohibition.
The "80% rule" for churches refers to two main concepts: either a growth limit (when average attendance hits 80% of sanctuary capacity, growth slows due to crowding in parking, seating, or kids' areas) or the Pareto Principle (80% of results come from 20% of efforts, meaning a few volunteers do most of the work). Both highlight potential issues: the first suggests building or adding services, while the second points to volunteer burnout and inequitable work distribution, prompting a need for leadership development to engage more people.
In general as Christ-followers, our hobbies will most likely fall under the category of Christian liberty. After all, this world isn't meant to be all work and no play. The Bible tells us that God created things on this earth for us to enjoy, including our various activities.
Like anything else, special interests always have the potential to be sinful if one perverts them or if the interest itself is directly sinful according to Scripture.
The Council of Jerusalem instructed gentile Christians not to consume blood, food offered to idols, or the meat of strangled animals, since "the Law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath." In Judaism, Jews are forbidden from consuming (amongst ...
PRACTICE SEEING THE POSITIVE A happy heart is good medicine and A cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 Today I encourage you to be a thankful, positive person. If you are not it's just a matter of forming a new habit.
The primary scripture for "laughter is medicine" is Proverbs 17:22, which states, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" (NIV/ESV) or "A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones" (NKJV). This verse highlights the positive physical and emotional benefits of joy and cheerfulness, contrasting them with the detrimental effects of despair, a concept supported by modern understanding of how positive emotions impact health, notes Family Life Radio.
The primary Bible verse addressing a man's failure to care for his family, including children, in the KJV is 1 Timothy 5:8, which states: "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel". This verse emphasizes that neglecting one's family (especially immediate family/household) is a severe spiritual failure, worse than that of an unbeliever. Other passages like Proverbs 13:22-24 and Colossians 3:21 touch on parental responsibility, but 1 Timothy 5:8 directly condemns the failure to provide for dependents.
The Biblical doctrine of usury rests primarily on three texts: Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35; and Deuteronomy 23:19-20. Exodus and Leviticus prohibit loans of money or food with interest to a needy brother or sister or even a resident alien. Deuteronomy forbids taking interest from any person.
Here we have Jesus saying, “lend, expecting noth- ing in return,” again to the crowds as well as to Jesus' disciples (Lk 17, 7:1). Garland (2011) suggests that Jesus says this because his teaching reaffirms the essence of the Old Testament prohibition against interest.
God loves for you to talk to him about anything. Whatever you're interested in, God is interested in it too.
Lust is a sin. Acting on lust, can come to fornication. A lustful thought isn't necessarily a sin, unless you start to entertain those thoughts, even without acting on them.
The "Trump Bible," officially the "God Bless the USA Bible", is a special edition King James Version (KJV) Bible that includes America's founding documents (Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence), the Pledge of Allegiance, and lyrics to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA", blending patriotism with scripture, sparking debate over Christian nationalism. It's a compilation, not a new translation, featuring patriotic elements and symbols like the U.S. flag and bald eagles alongside biblical stories.
Just as there exists a very fine line between brilliance and insanity, there also exists a fine line between passion and many negative traits such as narrow-mindedness, narcissism, fanaticism, delusion, and even paranoia.