Our Debt--Jesus Paid It All

November 15

The United States and the world are facing rough economic times. Greece has gone bankrupt, and the richest, most powerful nation that has ever existed just may follow close behind. Some government officials who value fiscal responsibility have stated they won’t be party to perpetuating an untenable debt but the current administration seems intent upon employing policies that exacerbate our economic woes.

In Luke 14:28, Jesus posed this timeless question to His followers: “Which of you, before building a tower, doesn’t first sit down to calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” The Lord’s clear meaning is that His people are not to ‘bite off more than they can chew’ when it comes to debt. His implied counsel is that we do not make ourselves debtors but that we manage our resources responsibly so that any expenditure we incur is one for which we have the funds to pay.

Yet, there is a deeper meaning in these words the Lord spoke to His disciples. Yes, we are to be responsible with our financial resources. Yes, we are to assure our ability to pay before we incur debt. No, we are not to leave others hanging with the consequences of our default. But there is a spiritual element to what Jesus said whose importance transcends that of any mere financial agreement to which we may enter.

Jesus always maintains His focus on the spiritual. He will never prioritize the temporal over the eternal. We, then, must weigh the consequences of our decisions in the light of eternity. Boiled down to its essence, what He is saying is, ‘Do not be focused on the matters of time. Be focused on the matters of eternity. Do not become rich in the things of the world at the expense of the spiritual treasure you must lay up in heaven. And do not be so bound by the debt of time that you squander the treasure of eternity.’

In Romans 13:8, the Apostle Paul is quite clear in reinforcing the Lord’s assertion that we should ‘pay as we go’ rather than to wallow in debt, for here Paul says, “Owe no man anything but to love.” The Christian is not to allow financial debt to weigh him down but he is to forever consider himself to be indebted to the purpose for which Christ came and died.

The Christian is to be forever committed to sharing the Lord’s love, which “never fails” I Corinthians 13:8, with those who know Him not, to allowing His love to be lavished upon those indebted to sin so they can be set free by the price Jesus paid for their release at Calvary. The “unspeakable gift” II Corinthians 9:15, that Jesus has given us to release us from our debt of sin must be lavished upon others through us as we, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” Mark 16:15.