Owe No Man
January 7, 2001
Dear Friends:
Romans 13:8 tells us plainly “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another.” (NASB)
This verse presents many in modern society with a problem. There used to be the haves and the have nots. Now there are the haves, the have nots and those that haven’t paid for what they have.
From what I can gather, there are more than 700 million credit cards currently issued. It is estimated that in the next year, over 1.4 million families will file for protection from their creditors (i.e. bankruptcy). Current consumer debt now exceeds $1 trillion ($1,000,000,000,000). The average American has 5-10 credit cards and carries a monthly balance of between $15,000 and $20,000. Sounds like someone is not paying attention to Romans 13!
If we were in the middle of a depression when people were going into debt to “save the family farm” so to speak, we would be less shocked at these figures. Yet, we are in the midst of the longest run of economic prosperity in the history of the United States. Jobs are plenteous. Wages are increasing. What could possibly be the cause of this incredible debt?
So without basic necessities as an excuse, we are left with the conclusion that the driving force behind this state of indebtedness is covetousness. This is not just average, run of the mill covetousness, we are talking world-class, stop the presses, hold onto your hat covetousness. People can’t wait to acquire their latest asset. It has to be acquired today even if it costs 18% interest.
The lenders are so plentiful and money so easy to acquire, that we buy more than we can afford. Our family must get one credit card offer per day by mail. Half of these offers are trying to get you to pay off your old credit card with this new one!
As I sit here writing this, the second commercial in a half hour comes on the radio concerning credit. “Take control of your credit” the announcer says. They are selling access to your credit records. I can tell anyone who is willing to listen how to “take control of your credit.” Follow the advice of the comic Henny Youngman when he said “I had plastic surgery last week. I cut up my credit cards.”
The context of Romans 13 is more than money. It is anything we owe to men. Taxes and honor are two examples given. The key principle is that a Christian should not be behind on their obligations of any sort. How much worse is it when the debt in question stems from covetousness?
We will leave you with a quote from Jesus. He said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Have a prudent week!
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