Owe No Man – Part 2
January 14, 2001
Dear Friends:
Seldom in the short history of the Thought For the Week have we said anything that has generated the response of last week’s thought entitled “Owe No Man.” The general idea of the thought was that believers should beware of the trend toward high levels of consumer debt especially for items that are not basic necessities. However, the question that continually came back in one form or another was “Can a believer have any debt?”
The Bible can be read on many levels. This is true also of God’s commandments. Take the commandment of “Thou shalt not kill.” On the surface, this is a very straightforward command that any child could understand. However, if we got into a debate about its meaning (which believers are apt to do), we might find a myriad of interpretations. Someone might say that it doesn’t specify humans and therefore we cannot kill anything – plant or animal. Someone might validly argue that there are exceptions when we can kill such as when God commanded Israel to destroy a neighboring nation. This is not to say that there is not one right answer, this is just to say that we may not all reach the same answer.
We might find these types of discussions unsettling. We want the answer to be black and white. But, the Bible is seldom presented in this way. We have to search through it and understand the principles by which God wants us to live. It is neither an easy nor a quick study. It takes a lifetime of study coupled with the trial and error of life’s experiences. It also takes an honest heart to truly seek God’s will and not conform Scripture to our own preconceived ideas or desires. Nothing is more disheartening that to see someone wrest a passage of Scripture to their own condemnation.
The principle of the commandment of “thou shalt not kill” when stated in the positive is “thou shalt love people.” Jesus raised the principle of sin avoidance under the Law to service to and conformity to the will of God. Jesus said “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other.” In other words, the principle is not for us not to murder people, but a believer should help people. Believers are not destroyers, but builders-up or creators.
What is the greater principle in “owe no man anything?” It seems that it is not to have any obligation that will detract from our service to God. In the context of the surrounding verses, this includes but is not limited to financial debt.
Can a believer have debt? My interpretation would be that they can. Paul tells believers many things in steps of spirituality. For example, he tells us that it is better for servants of the Lord Jesus not to marry. This is the ideal situation because a spouse will distract us from the Lord’s service. If someone wishes to marry, it is not a sin. A believer can still be an excellent servant to God in a state of marriage.
The apostle Paul in Romans has just made the most amazing case for grace as being superior to law. In this section of Romans, Paul is applying the principles he has just taught them to practical matters. He tells them “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom. 12:2 NASB) In other words, the life of a believer is a series of learning steps to learn to apply what God has written down for us. It is the maturation process every believer must go through. It would seem to me to be inappropriate for Paul to institute a hard and fast rule concerning debt after appealing for thirteen chapters to the principle of grace.
What is the ideal for a believer? No debt, financial or otherwise. Why? So that we can be 100% dedicated to God’s service. No man would have any leverage on us to get us to do anything other than serve God. But with this said, let it be known that many people fall below the ideal. Not every believer can dedicate their every waking hour to preaching or serving the poor and underprivileged. Very few can as a matter of fact.
So the rest of us fall short of the ideal. We get married and buy homes with the commensurate mortgage payment. We spend a large portion of our week at work, tending to children or other mundane tasks of life. Hopefully we do all of these things with a Godly perspective. We shine our lights before men at work. (Matt. 5:16) Concerning our children, we “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4 NASB) And hopefully, we do not strap ourselves with unneeded debt to satisfy our worldly desires for more and more things. We realize it is God’s money and not our own. We meet our financial obligations to God’s work. If debt is required to meet our daily necessities, we do so in a spiritually mature manner with prayer and thanksgiving.
Let me finish this thought with what was supposed to be my initial exhortation. “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” (Luke 12:15)
Have a blessed week!
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