Written by Boy Guingguing
Publisher, Bohol Sunday Post
Who will disagree with this Bglante's observation that the lending business has its downside and upside. To some, it is a virtual gold mine. It is so lucrative that people we know who are in the lending business have themselves become rich and famous.
But in some cases, lending is not always sugar and spice and everything nice.
For all you know, the lending industry is also littered with the carcasses of all those who fell by the wayside. Why, is it what they call in the vernacular as nahurot ug panukli?
For all intents and purposes, lending is not for the faint of heart. Or for the kind hearted. You've got to have a heart of steel, if one likes to succeed in this kind of business.
One component of the business is the collector. For one, the main qualification of this kind of people is that they will take no for an answer. If these collectors are of the uncompromising kind, the best word to describe them is that they must be ferocious as a mad dog.
With this kind of combination-ferocity of the collectors and lending investors giving no quarters to clients during paying time, there's no way that the business will not prosper.
What about the downside? Although usury had long been vanished in our statutes, the Gook Book is still explicit in its caveat about "taking advantage about the misery of others". And to put it bluntly, lending let alone if it is reinforced in usurious rates, is still considered a mortal sin.
What motivated us to make a piece about lending?
We have this friend (a faculty member of a local college) who took pity to many of his students who could no longer pursue their college course because of poverty. The students asked their teacher if he can find somebody who can offer them scholarships. Not one who thought of solving the students' problem by taking the immoral way, say tapping the lewd designs of DOMs, the poor teacher sought this Bglante's help if we can be a benefactor.
Actually, the scholarship idea (the no strings attached kind) titillated us no end. But we have our own king size problem to contend with, thus disqualifying us from the hassles of maintaining scholars.
This led us to recommend why not tap the benevolence of those who are in the lending business. Knowing that they are the kind that oozes with cash, why not explore the idea of asking a share of their bounty for our less fortunate brothers.
Our contention here is that if irreverent lenders do not suffer from the karmic equivalent of divine justice, they might as well engage in some apostolic work in order to mitigate the impact of bad karma.
We knew of several people whose lending wealth were slowly dissipated because of unknown illnesses or some other catastrophes befalling them. Look around you and you will know what I mean.
What we are saying is that, if you engage in lending, make it a two-way traffic. Make it one way and sooner or later, you will suffer the harsh consequences. Just moderate your greed so that you will be provided the right cushion in case a free fall becomes inevitable. All told, consider the value of sharing and who knows if it will have its own rewards.
As to the college teacher, at least we offer him one option to explore. There's no harm in trying and for all you know a good samaritan may just be lurking among lenders and lying beneath their notorious cover is a person with a heart of gold.
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