Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Nahum
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Luke 7:40-41
Jesus (knowing what the Pharisee is thinking): Simon, I want to tell you a story.
Simon: Tell me, Teacher.
Jesus: Two men owed a certain lender a lot of money. One owed 100 weeks’ wages, and the other owed 10 weeks’ wages. Both men defaulted on their loans, but the lender forgave them both. Here’s a question for you: which man will love the lender more?
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
Jesus’ story caused me to do a little research. It made me wonder when the first bank opened. The first institution to make a business of securing other people’s money and using it to provide loans to others at interest, then distributing part of the interest to those whose money was used for the loans and part as profit for the business. Banks are interesting institutions. They do wondrous things for the economy. They create money when there really isn’t any. They loan money that really isn’t theirs to loan and even isn’t there in the first place. Just look at the bank runs of 1929 and you’ll see how little money really exists out there. Ten cents on the dollar would be very generous. It’s probably more like one cent on the dollar. The rest of the funds are found in some liquid and not so liquid assets.
Which leads us to the issue of today’s words from Jesus. Have you thought about how much debt Americans hold today? There are a few families that carry absolutely no debt. Houses, cars, credit cards, all paid off. No debt. They pay everything every month with no interest accumulating. But for those with any kind of debt, credit cards, school loans, mortgages, auto loans, etc., the average American household owes over $130,000 and pays $6,600 a year in interest. Pretty scary isn’t it.
The scariest part is that the $12 trillion dollars that we Americans owe to bankers and businesses doesn’t include the $17 trillion we American tax payers owe to other countries because of the debt our Congress has racked up in its gluttonous spending habits. So add that to the family debt and suddenly we each owe twice as much as we thought we did. Sounds great doesn’t it.
Thank you, whoever came up with the borrower and lender scheme way back in the Old Testament days. Shakespeare got it right, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” He got that from Paul in Romans 13 when he say, “Don’t owe anyone anything, with the exception of love to one another.” What a different world we would live in if we didn’t have debt hanging over our heads every day, don’t you think? Parents could spend more time with their children instead of feeling like they must get that extra dollar to just make it. Maybe one of them could stay home when the kids are young instead of having a child care center raise them. Maybe we could even learn to stop chasing money to make ends meet and save for the future. That would be something, wouldn’t it?
But back to Jesus’ words. So now each of our families owe an average of $250,000 whether we like it or not. Some owe more, some owe less, but that’s the average, and by the way, if you think you are debt free, remember that tax bill out there. You’re still part of that, so that $150,000 that you co-signed as an American citizen still belongs to you. Maybe you’ll want to think about that when you vote in a couple of weeks for the people that want to spend more of our money! We are the ones that have to pay the bill.
So now that we have some parameters about debt and where we stand on what the future looks like for us financially, what do you think about Jesus’ words? How would you like the government to suddenly tell you that you don’t have to pay your part of that $17 trillion? Of course in government, the problem is that someone else has to pay it or the lender has to tell us the debt is forgiven, neither of which is a good idea or likely to happen. But what if? How would you feel for all debts to be paid? Everything you owe forgiven?
What about the penalty for your sins? I recently read through Leviticus again. That book of the Old Testament is pretty scary. It gives the punishments God laid out for unintentional violations of His commands. God assumed in His dealings with His chosen people that they would follow Him, so the punishments prescribed and the offerings administered were to atone for those wrongs that someone unintentionally committed. If you’ll examine those Old Testament scriptures, you’ll find that those who intentionally violated God’s laws were put to death.
But now Jesus comes on the scene. Forgiveness is available. When we ask in repentance, He forgives. Remember repentance means turning away from the old life and turning toward Him, though. It means living His way, not ours. But when we ask the debt we owe because of our sins goes away. It is paid in full, forgiven by the only One able to do so.
Now how do you feel? If He has forgiven that debt for you, you should feel the joy only He can give.
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