Our Debt to Others

 It is a great day when we can pay off all of the financial debts that we owe. The day the car is paid off is a red letter day, and even more so, the day we get the mortgage on the house paid. Then, there are those who are working hard to pay off the credit card debts, too. Wouldn't it be great to be debt free? Yes, but even then, we would still have another non-monetary debt to pay.

The Bible makes it very clear to us that we have a debt to pay every other person in this world. Yes, I mean everyone. (Romans 13:8) We are commanded to owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, because the one who loves his neighbor fulfills the Law. See what I mean? We never finish paying this debt until we die.

We pay our love debt by putting others and their needs ahead of ourselves and our needs. We try to do whatever we can do to help them and to provide whatever support we can for them. Love is a choice, not a feeling. It is not only romantic love, but there is a love for us to have for everyone we encounter at any time. As Christians, we are to love as Christ loves us.

Therefore, we can't say we are going to ignore another person because we don't agree with them or we don't like something they have done. Ignoring another person is not love, at all. When we love, we forgive. When we love others, we care enough to make things right with them. That is why this verse says that the one who loves has fulfilled the Law of God. We owe love to God and to others, and when we pay our debt, we are keeping all of the laws of God.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Romans 14-16.