Love encourages love just as debt engenders debt.
My thoughts and comments today are about, “The Debt of Love.”
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.” Romans 13:8 NIV.
Debt is an addiction, always breeding more desire and debt. Debt results from buying things you don’t need, with money you don’t have, to impress people who don’t care. In today’s consumer culture, debt has become a perilous way of life. The world’s economy depends upon it, and subtly convinces all of us that we cannot live without it. And the evil genius of credit cards has made resistance difficult. To resist their siren call is difficult. But you can. And you should.
Marketing lures you to believe that you always need more, bigger, better, and newer, therefore more expensive. That discontent drives the consumer economy and builds a growing, personal indebtedness. Your needs are not more, but your wants will be. Along the way, I have learned a practical, helpful reality to minimize debt. If I never spend all that I earn, I will always have a little extra when needed. That became a principle of stewardship and personal economy that I still follow today. Most importantly, that works. Life is simpler. Worries are less. Financial freedom is greater. There is some practical measure of when enough is enough.
I grew up in a modest, but comfortable home. We never had too much; we never seemed to have too little, but we always had enough. I was taught that all you earn and what you have comes from God, through His blessing on your honest labor. James was clear, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.” James 1:17 NIV.
The Bible also speaks of a different kind of debt, a debt to one another. “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8 NIV. See 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV. I owe friends and family for multiple kindnesses and much generosity. That is a very real relational debt. Someone observed, “If you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you can be sure he didn’t get there without the help of someone.” We are all indebted to someone. The principle is simple enough. Financial debt is inadvisable. Relational debt is unavoidable. Jesus taught, “Give as freely as you have received!” Matthew 10:8 NLT.
Paul recognized this unusual pairing of financial debt and relational responsibility. In one, you are taught to be wise; in the other, you are taught to be generous. Here’s how I think they relate and differ. Financial debt is about yourself and your wants. Relational debt is about others and their needs. Both are responsibilities to which you choose to obligate yourself. The greater your financial debts, the more you are preoccupied with yourself and the less thought and means you have left for others.
Financial debt consumes your concern for yourself – paying your bills, satisfying your wants, absorbing your extra. Relational debt engages you with others – giving instead of getting, meeting others’ needs before your wants, sharing the blessings you have received. Love encourages love, just as debt engenders debt. God’s Word is always right; God’s way is always best. “If we love each other, God lives in us, and His love has been brought to full expression through us.” 1 John 4:12 NLT.
Today, I pray for you to understand that debt substitutes the immediate for the ultimate.
Christian Communications 2017-7237