Owe No

You know the feeling. A bill arrives in the mail and when you see the amount due, your heart sinks. "Oh no," you sigh. "How am I going to pay for this?"

When my wife and I purchased our first house in 1978, I was a young minister earning a very modest salary. As we sat at the table in a lawyer's office and signed papers committing ourselves to a 25-year mortgage I thought, "Oh no! I hope we can pay for this!" (Our payments were a seemingly astronomical $276 a month.)

When the stock market dipped after 9/11, investors all over America thought, "Oh no." Gasoline prices and winter heating bills cause a similar reaction. "Oh no," we wonder. "How will we handle these rising costs?"

What if we alter that phrase a little? Instead of "Oh no," what if our motto were "Owe no"? After all, the Bible says, "Owe no man anything, but to love one another" (Romans 13:8, King James Version). If we fastened this little slogan to our wallets and credit cards, we might think twice before making impulsive purchases.

Incur an unreasonable amount of consumer debt? Owe no. Jeopardize your financial stability in order to buy a more luxurious house or car than you really need? Spend thousands in interest that could have been saved for the future or given for the Lord's work? Build up credit card obligations and student loans that feel like a ball and chain? Owe no.

Debts We Owe

However, there are at least three debts a Christian cannot escape.

We owe a debt to those who do not believe. The apostle Paul said, "I am obligated the KJV reads, "I am debtor" both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel . . ." (Romans 1:14-15).

If others are hungry and I know where to find food, I am morally obligated to share this good news with them. If others are drowning and life preservers are within my reach, it's my duty to rescue those in danger. If I know the giver of eternal life, I must help others find him too.

We also owe a debt to our families. Paul urged Timothy that "if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God" (1 Timothy 5:4).

Unnecessary debt limits our ability to provide for our loved ones. Our parents and grandparents invested enormous amounts of time, effort, and money in us, so we must be willing to provide for them as they grow older.

Most of all, we owe a debt to God. None of us can repay the Lord for what he has done. "Jesus paid it all; all to him I owe." But in response to his grandeur and his grace, we owe the Lord our reverence. We owe him our faith and obedience. We owe him faithful stewardship of everything he's entrusted to our care.

In 1758 a 23-year-old minister named Robert Robinson penned the words to the hymn, "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing." One line of the song puts it well: "O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!"

After all he's done for me, do I owe the Lord my all? Oh yes.