Luke Wood has an interesting blog post Should Students Tithe Their Student Loans? (HT: Dave Bish). He argues that they shouldn’t, and quotes Alan Preston saying:
“Our advice to university students is consistent. Please do not give out of your student loan. It would seem silly to borrow money from the student loan company or Barclays to get into further debt, to give to the church. That will only increase your debt. What we would say to you is give from your earned income. Give from your holiday job. Give from your weekly employment if you have any.”
When I was a student, I wouldn’t have wanted to not give anything to church and CU and other organisations or charities. I agree than no obligation can be laid on students to give out of their student loan, but I disagree that it is necessarily wrong or bad stewardship for students to give out of their loan.
Luke gives the examples that you wouldn’t give money out of your mortgage, the money that the bank lends you for your house, or out of finance on a car or a personal loan from the bank. But I think there’s a difference. A mortgage is for buying a house; finance on a car for the car; but a student loan is what many students have to live on, and the scope of that extends beyond practical living costs and course materials.
While a student, I earned some money in the holidays, but was largely dependent on my student load and Welsh Assembly learning grant. I used some of that money to socialise, to go to the pub and cinema, to buy books and dvds for personal interest and pleasure, and not just on living costs and on things directly relating to my course. I think I was responsible in keeping my spending in these ways pretty low, and rest and socialising are important parts of a balanced life. (To be fair, many students spend far too much and don’t worry about debt until later, and Christians should be very careful to avoid this kind of attitude, even if couched in spiritual terms.)
Generosity, including giving out of one’s money, should be part of the fabric of a Christian’s life as much as times of work, rest and play. I personally wouldn’t have been able in good conscience to spend money on myself, while not giving any of my money. But I do think that whether you give financially as a student is a matter of conscience, and that having a heart attitude of generosity is the important thing, and this can be expressed in many ways, not just in financial terms.