Bible Discussion Thread

I have a question about Christian living. My wife and I rent a nice mobile home on our property to our neighbors mother. Years ago because we were trying to be friendly and they asked for help we set the rent low, about half of what we can get. Because of the set up we have no way to meter water and electric so it's a flat rent. Well for the last few years the neighbors wait until we go to church and they bring over all their laundry to use in our rental. I want to put a stop to it. My wife believes we would set a bad example as Christians, I keep going back and forth. I see it that we're being used. Please guide me. Thank You.

This type of situation can be annoying & upsetting when your act of kindness gets abused. I assume that you have raised the matter with your neighbours so that they are aware of it & that they still pursue this attitude & action.

You could do as your wife suggests & write-off the extra costs, as the 'Christian thing' to do, but if that will only leave you constantly upset & out-of-pocket, then you might have to consider other options. If these utilities have a direct connection to your mobile home, they would have their own meters; then you can specify to them that your charges of rent only apply to the use of the home only - they have to meet other costs (you could even lower your rent slightly to allow for that). If their bills don't get paid then the utilities are cut off. Or if you feel more generous, keep your rental cost the same & offer to pay for half of their utility bills.

If however, they get their utilities via your meters, it becomes more difficult & expensive. You might have to consult your utility suppliers to have a sub-meters installed that will record water/electricity usage to the mobile home. And then apply the same arrangement for the tenant to pay those bills.

Since there is probably no rental contract involved here, you can advise them that the monthly rental cost will fluctuate depending on what you determine their usage will be according to the bills you receive. This however, would not be the best option & a lot of disputes will come up as to what they have or have not used. Or else, just raise the rent across the board to be able to meet at least some of the extra costs.

But from a Christian view point, I wouldn't allow this issue to keep on going in the way it is. It needs to be dealt with & the people need to know that they do wrong by over-using your resources. Or else, just turn a blind eye & allow God to meet your extra expenses & to deal with them accordingly. In any case, a proper contract needs to be in place.