Tag Archives: debt

NO DEBT

Bible Study, ,

NO DEBT

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Romans 13:8-10.

Paul, you make it sound so easy! Simple, yes, but not easy.

However, this is what the law of God is all about. It was never intended to be a military code of conduct, but rather a description of what doing life together as a family of God’s children should look like.

First of all, Paul said, get out of debt and stay out of debt. There should be no reason to be in debt if we follow God’s economic system, even if we do fall on hard times now and then. That’s what the community of God’s people is all about. Whatever God has given us is not exclusively ours to be used selfishly but to be shared with others according to their need.

In the constitution God gave to regulate the lives of His people, the goal was equality, never the ever-widening gap between rich and poor. Of course, that does not sanction laziness. Rather, it fills in the gaps for those who suffer reverses in the ordinary course of events. Paul dealt with this principle in his second letter to the Corinthian church.

The believers in Jerusalem were in poverty because of famine. Paul campaigned for help from the churches in Greece and now it was time for them to make good on their promise.

“Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need so that, in turn, their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: ‘The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.'” 2 Corinthians 8:11-15.

In the end, debt is a slur on the name of God for at least two reasons: firstly, because in some cases, debt is the outcome of covetousness, and covetousness is an expression of discontent. “Keeping up with the Joneses” is a covert way of telling God that He has short-changed me! He is unfair because what He has given me is less than what He has given someone else – so I remedy it by going into debt.

Secondly, I have not done my duty to God by fulfilling my responsibility to those to whom God has told me to give: to Him first because He requires the firstfruits of all my increase (which is to be given to my spiritual authority to support him and his family); my tithe to the storehouse (my local church); my family tithe to take care of my family’s future, and the poor, the alien, the widow and the orphan every third “harvest”.

Of course, sometimes debt is unavoidable, and this is where the family of God steps in to help. Unexpected illness, loss of a job, a natural disaster, whatever depletes the family’s resources is a call for the wider family to come to the rescue until the sufferers are back on their feet again.

But there is a debt that can never be repaid in full – the continuing debt to love one another. Why does Paul call it a “debt”? Why do we owe love to all people? Love is not like a sum of money which we owe someone and can repay in full. It is an ongoing debt to God because of His inexhaustible love for us. We can only repay our debt of love to Him by loving His children and, because He continues to love us, by continuing to love others as long as we have breath.

All the intricate and seemingly tedious details of the Law are intended for one purpose – to meet the needs of others at our expense. Loving others is not about being sentimental over them whether we like them or not. It’s about serving others by taking care of their needs when and where we can, regardless of who they are because that’s what God does for us. 

And it never stops…

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE

Bible Study, , ,

WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE

“Jesus said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to tell you.’  ‘Oh? Tell me.’  ‘Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker cancelled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?’

“Simon answered, ‘I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.’  ‘That’s right,’ said Jesus. Then turning to the woman but speaking to Simon, He said, ‘Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If forgiveness is minimal, gratitude is minimal.’

“Then He spoke to her: ‘I forgive your sins.’ That set the dinner guests talking behind His back: ‘Who does He think He is, forgiving sins!’

“He ignored them and said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.'” Luke 7:40-50.

Simon was a Pharisee! A Pharisee, a man with a huge ego problem!

The eyes of all the dinner guests were on him. No doubt they were all Simon’s cronies, friends and supporters, Pharisees and religious types who keenly felt his embarrassment because they were in this together. They were probably thinking what he was thinking when the woman made her appearance and washed Jesus’ feet.

Why did Jesus name and shame Simon’s behaviour so ruthlessly? Before the woman’s intrusion, He said nothing to him about his lack of common courtesy. He let it pass until the woman did for Him, out of humility and great personal cost, what Simon should have done as the host through a servant.

This whole dinner date thing was an absolute farce. Firstly, eating with Jesus as a sign of reconciliation was a sham. Simon had issues with Jesus along with all the other Pharisees and reconciliation was the farthest from his intention. Sitting at the table with Jesus was a company of hypocrites.

Secondly, he publicly humiliated Jesus and showed his contempt for Him, and no doubt for His disciples as well, by ignoring the protocol of hospitality. After all, Jesus was a rabbi, one on the same level as His two great contemporaries, Hillel and Shammai, and He should have been received with great honour.

And Jesus noticed but said nothing until Simon revealed his contempt for the woman as well. Then He jumped in with one of His famous and pointed stories. Simon would immediately have recognised who he was in the story if he were honest – the ungrateful debtor. Once again we see how Jesus differentiated between Simon’s and the woman’s hearts. In the presence of Jesus, the woman was aware of her own sinfulness and wordlessly craved forgiveness. In the presence of the woman, Simon preened and congratulated himself for not being like her – at least in the public eye!

The outcome for the woman was peace; an inner sense of wellbeing because her past had ceased to exist. She left Simon’s home deeply in love with Jesus. Simon, on the other hand was both uncomfortable and angry, along with his peers. Instead of loving Jesus for freeing him from the guilt of his past and giving him a new start, he was seething with rage at being exposed, and determined to get even with Him when the opportunity came.

He was, no doubt, joined by his other dinner guests who were outraged at Jesus’ treatment of the woman. ‘How dare He forgive her sins! Who does He think He is?’

Like them, it all depends on how we see ourselves in the light of who Jesus is. We can ignore Him and compare ourselves with those whom we hold in contempt or we can allow His light to expose our darkness and experience the freedom of forgiveness and a new life.

The choice is ours.

No Debt

Bible Study, , , ,

NO DEBT

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Romans 13:8-10.

Paul, you make it sound so easy! Simple, yes, but not easy.

But this is what the law of God is all about. It was never intended to be a military code of conduct, but rather a description of what doing life together as a family of God’s children should look like.

First of all, Paul said, get out of debt and stay out of debt. There should be no reason to be in debt if we follow God’s economic system, even if we do fall on hard times now and then. That’s what the community of God’s people is all about. Whatever God has given us is not exclusively ours to be used selfishly but to be shared with others according to their need.

In the constitution God gave to regulate the lives of His people, the goal was equality, never the ever-widening gap between rich and poor. Of course, that does not sanction laziness. Rather, it fills in the gaps for those who suffer reverses in the ordinary course of events. Paul dealt with this principle in his second letter to the Corinthian church.

The believers in Jerusalem were in poverty because of famine. Paul campaigned for help from the churches in Greece and now it was time for them to make good on their promise.

“Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need so that, in turn, their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: ‘The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.'” 2 Corinthians 8:11-15.

In the end, debt is a slur on the name of God for at least two reasons: firstly, because in some cases, debt is the outcome of covetousness, and covetousness is an expression of discontent. “Keeping up with the Joneses” is a covert way of telling God that He has short-changed me! He is unfair because what He has given me is less than what He has given someone else – so I remedy it by going into debt.

Secondly, because I have not done my duty to God by fulfilling my responsibility to those whom to God has told me to give: to Him first because He requires the firstfruits of all my increase (which is to be given to my spiritual authority to support him and his family); my tithe to the storehouse (my local church); my family tithe to take care of my family’s future, and the poor, the alien, the widow and the orphan every third “harvest”.

Of course, sometimes debt is unavoidable, and this is where the family of God steps in to help. Unexpected illness, loss of a job, a natural disaster, whatever depletes the family’s resources is a call for the wider family to come to the rescue until the sufferers are back on their feet again.

But there is a debt that can never be repaid in full – the continuing debt to love one another. Why does Paul call it a “debt”? Why do we owe love to all people? Love is not like a sum of money which we owe someone and can repay in full. It is an ongoing debt to God because of His inexhaustible love for us. We can only repay our debt of love to Him by loving His children and, because He continues to love us, by continuing to love others as long as we have breath.

All the intricate and seemingly tedious details of the Law are intended for one purpose – to meet the needs of others at our expense. Loving others is not about being sentimental over them whether we like them or not. It’s about serving others by taking care of their needs when and where we can, regardless of who they are because that’s what God does for us.

And it never stops…

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Forgiven

Christian Life, , , ,

FORGIVEN!

“Two others, both criminals, were taken along with him for execution.

“When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified Him, along with the criminals, one on His right, the other on His left.

“Jesus prayed, ‘Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.’

“Dividing up His clothes, they drew dice for them. The people stood there staring at Jesus and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, ‘He saved others. Let’s see Him save Himself. The Messiah of God — ha! The Chosen — ha!'” Luke 23:32-35 (The Message).

Luke’s story has very little detail. It’s almost as though he deliberately pulled the curtain on Jesus’ suffering. He was sensitive and discreet about his descriptions, writing only about those things which related to the character of Jesus and the fulfilment of prophecy — although he didn’t mention that fact in his story. He was writing about the Son of God, not a sensational tabloid account of a criminal’s last hours. Even Jesus’ criminal companions come in for the same kindly discretion.

Right in the middle of this tragic event there stands a shining light of hope for all of them; soldiers, perpetrators, unfeeling crowd, and even the two guilty men hanging on their crosses beside Him. One sentence echoes down through time, embracing everyone, from the first pair who set the ball rolling to every other person who has lived, and will live, to perpetuate the first pair’s rebellion against their Creator.

“‘Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.'”

Jesus encapsulated in His prayer the reason for this heinous deed, the responsibility for which sits squarely on the shoulders of every person who has lived. “They do not know what they are doing.” He extended forgiveness, then, to all of us now, since we have no idea of the implications of our stubborn rebellion against God.

Do you know how far-reaching one act of selfishness can be in your life? One careless word, one lie, one act of treachery or betrayal, one night of lust, one stolen kiss, one impulsive decision, can ruin a life, a family and even an entire community in a split second. We are left with a lifetime to regret what we did in a moment.

The spilt blood of Jesus speaks up for you even in the situations that leave you helpless and condemned. You did not know what you were doing! That does not excuse your behaviour. Jesus’ sacrifice does not remove the responsibility for our sin. He paid the debt by giving His life for ours, blood for blood, so that the Father’s justice would be fully satisfied.

The implications of Jesus’ gift are huge. Not only has the debt of our sin been paid but also the debt of those who have sinned against us. We no longer have the right to punish those who owe us because it is illegal to punish a person twice for the same sin.

This makes the sin of unforgiveness unforgiveable. It would be morally wrong for God to clear our debt if we refuse to clear the debt of someone who owes us. That makes unforgiveness an “unpardonable” sin which can take even a believer into eternal separation from God.

Jesus lived out His own teaching in the midst of His cruellest suffering. He was innocent, yet He forgave those who were responsible for putting Him there. He was there because He chose to be there, willingly submitting to His Father’s will. There was no other way to reconcile God’s wayward sons and daughters to Himself.

Jesus does not expect us to do what He did not do first. He taught us and showed how by His own impeccable choice to obey the Father to His last breath. He led the way and calls us to follow. In that there is life!