Paid In Full

Paid in Full

Women Sold For Debt

Read: Matthew 18:25; Nehemiah 5:5

Cathy cringed at the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was that time of the month—time for the credit-card bill, and she’d just seen Sam striding toward the mailbox. Doing some quick math in her head, Cathy realized that she had gotten a little carried away during this cycle. But then again, look at how much she had saved by shopping the after-Christmas sales. Why couldn’t he still be at the hardware store? she thought angrily. Then I could have paid the bill without his seeing it, and we would have avoided a nasty argument.

As Israel interacted with the nations around them and moved away from God’s principles, debt became a serious problem with serious consequences. Instead of demonstrating leniency toward those in poverty, creditors sometimes sold the debtor, his wife, or his children as payment. Women were sometimes separated from their husbands or had to watch their children be taken away as slaves. Jesus referred to this practice more than once in his parables—and his listeners were all too familiar with the anguish caused to families that were torn apart by debt.

We were all born with a debt that we can never repay—the penalty for our sinful condition. Rather than selling us off, God took care of the bill by having Jesus die on the cross for us. Our accounts were paid in full. Once we accept that transaction, however, we assume another debt. For the rest of our lives, we owe it to God to show his love to everyone around us. When we remember the great debt that God paid on our behalf, we will find joy in meeting others’ needs. We don’t get a monthly bill for our debt of love, but we have a chance to make a payment every day.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.

Romans 13:8 (NIV)