No, if you’re worried, this is not a blog on financial responsibility. We should be responsible but I will leave that up to Dave Ramsey. Mainly because he actually knows what he’s talking about.
When I was a kid, we sang a song that said, “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to wash my sin away.” Today in our band devotional time, Cody brought up the idea that sin and debt are similar. That got me to thinking.
I believe that one of the most dangerous similarities between sin and debt is the idea that we have it under control. We believe that we can handle it at this level. That a little is not too bad. We count on some unnamed event in the future that is going to take care of it.
What is wrong with a few 3D movies on the credit card? Plus snacks of course. I’ll take care of it at the next paycheck. And unfortunately we often deal with sin the same way. What’s the big deal? They are just little mistakes. I’ll clean up my act soon.
It’s just a few pictures that I shouldn’t be looking at, but I’ll clean up my lust issue when I get married. Unfortunately, sin and especially habitual sin is not just a switch we can turn off when we want to. A lifetime of lust issues are not going to go away because you put a tux on. And the same is true for our pride. For our lies. For our excesses. For our unkind words. For every area of our lives that are not completely committed to God.
“So let us put aside the deeds of darkness, and put on the armor of light.” – Romans 13:12b
Thoughts?
Todd
As a person can become financially bankrupt, so we can become morally and spiritually bankrupt . . . and the debt in both cases begins with just one desire that is not controlled by the Spirit.
evening everyone… doesn’t this tie in a little bit to the discussion you started on obedience… isn’t our sin brought about by our disobedience? I am not perfect…not even close.. and when it comes time for our silent confession in church, I find myself shhhhing the pastor when he starts telling me how I’m forgiven, cause I need a few more minutes to confess… the first stone shall never be cast by me… but that doesn’t let me off the hook for the things I’ve done and the things I didn’t do… and as that bill gets bigger, I see that it’s been paid for me… and in that complete coolness that is His sacrifice for me, I find myself working,no, better word is wanting, to be a better person.. so my bill is smaller…. and maybe I can give Him a break… but you know what… something tells me He doesn’t mind
I think it does go hand in hand. If we live by our means and live a christian life. It may be hard, but god will give us our needs. We all want more. I have been guilty of that. I am at a point of just throwing in the towel sometimes for the sins I have to pay for now. God’s grace will get me through and hopefully I will fully start listening to his wisdom.
In my life, even in the areas that are totally submitted to God are still riddled with sin. The best I have to offer a Holy God is still far inferior to what he deserves from me. Thank God for His grace. If I can’t prevent sin in the areas of life that I am willing to subject to Christ, how then am I to think I can control the things not given to Him?
Cody’s a smart guy?
When I was a kid, in middle school-and started going to church on my own- I remember learning the Lord’s Prayer (which could more accurately be called the Model Prayer, since the Lord’s Prayer seems to be in John 17, but I digress…), which says; “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”. Or in another version it says “forgive us our trespasses…”. I remember wondering about those two words and trying to figure out how they applied to me. A debt is owing something to another that needs to be repaid. A trespass, to a farm kid like me, meant going on someone else’s property when you don’t belong there. I wish there were time to flesh this thought out further, but Saturday morning-at-home-work beckons. Maybe later. Have a glorious day!
Todd, you are my favorite teacher!
May God continue to Bless You and yours! on a selfish note……
May he allow you to continue to bless us, because you do!
Better late than never. depends on what I have to say. Adam is right.
God is relational. Father, Son and Holy Spirit have been in relationship forever. What God describes as sins, are [stuff] that break off fellowship. I am not an alcoholic. I can have a few beers, or a couple stiff drinks every couple months, whose counting how often? But if it impairs my mind, and breaks communion with Christ, I’d rather not.
I struggle more with my thought-life and covetiousness. How can I yield my mind to an attractive female, and at the same moment be in communion with the eternal God? It’s not a question of Him forgiving me. Of course I am accepted. But right at that moment, I am no different then a child throwing a tantrum. He does not commune with his parents, nor does he appreciate their presence. So why on earth do I sin? Oh wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?!
“and put on the armor of light” I’ve stopped back re-read the verse you posted, and what comes to mind is that we can’t do it on our own; it isn’t really in us, is it? We need to put on His light, His righteousness. We need to abide in Him and His word needs to abide in us. Then His light and righteousness will be present in our lives. But that’s sort of what you’re saying here, isn’t it?
I’m reading a book written by Charles Price which talks a bit about our condition of sin versus our sinful behavior. In Matthew, Jesus teaches that “murder is not the real issue (what we do), but anger (what we are); adultery is not the real issue (what we do) but lust (what we are). The external manifestations of our sin are only a symptom of the real problem, our poverty of spirit. We do what we do because we are what we are, and if the measure in which we seek God’s help is to change what we do rather than attending to what we are, we will find ourselves continually doing the same things again and again, despite the sincerity of our repentance. It is when we honestly mourn our condition we begin to discover some solution.” It is when we recognize our poverty of spirit (I’m morally and spiritually bankrupt), mourn our condition (It’s impossible for me to clean up my act and maintain it), and meekly submit ourselves to Jesus as LORD that makes it possible for Him to live His life through us. If we only recognize our sin and bankruptcy, but fail to mourn and submit, we are likely to repeat the same patterns of behavior that keep us defeated.
Hi Brenda,
I’m always interested in solutions. Is this new to you or have you been working on this? How is it going?
I’m also aquainted with the distinction of “theology of the cross” vs “theology of glory”; the idea here being that Jesus m.o. was not to seek glory outright, but to take up His cross and carry it. Likewise, we live out our lives in the shadowof the cross, enduring many trials, and failing many tests. We often suffer in consequence of our SINS, but as disciples of Christ (if we are disciples) we also share in the sufferings of Christ.
My present sense of it is, although I am accutely aware of my sin, and it deeply disturbs me, the less I look at myself and the more I look upon, spend time with the Lord, commune with Him, and the brethren the better I know Him, and the more I will love what He loves, and we inevitably do what we love to do. Consequently, I have found my time with the Lord more intimate, more real. God is with us. He is not shocked by my sin. He saw the worst of me, and paid the penalty for my worst, and even my best on the cross.
Perhaps we are saying nearly the same thing with difference of nuance.
I’m not sure how you define “mourn our condition”. I get fairly depressed at my condition. I doubt I want to spend much energy seaking a more sincere pumpkin patch. ; )
Hi Duane. In some ways, we are saying the same thing . . . such as the part that God is not shocked by my sin because He has seen the worst in me and paid the penalty.
When you read some of the OT prophets, such as Joel, Amos, and Hosea, you’ll find a common message from God to Israel–that although they “wailed upon their beds” at their condition (Hosea 7:14), their hearts were not broken to the extent that they turned to God for help.
If we are only aware of our sins (the symptoms), we will only look to God to forgive us of our symptoms, which may or may not bring about change. If, however, the awareness of our sins lead us to brokenness because of our inability to ever be what we should be regardless of how hard we try, we will truly realize what Jesus has done for us. He is the only One who can heal us of the condition of our heart (sin). Brokenness leads us to release control of our lives to the rhythm of the Spirit. It’s the reaction Isaiah had when He saw himself next to God’s holiness, and said, “Woe is me, I am undone.”
You asked how long I’ve been “working on this?” Almost 6 decades! Most of that time was spent focusing on being “good” and asking for forgiveness when I messed up. Pridefully, I kept most of the rules that my church community assigned to “good Christians.” But in the past 10 years, my heart has been broken as I’ve realized just how messed up I am and how much mercy He has extended to me. The more I spend with Jesus, the more I see how far I have to go to even come close to the depth of love and grace that is part of the character of Christ. Even though my desire is to love what He loves, I fall so short of actually doing that consistently. I think Paul struggled with the same thing.
I believe our worship has become so “praise” oriented that we have forgotten the component of lamenting that is woven throughout many of the Psalms. If we begin our worship by recognizing and lamenting our sin and brokenness, then our praise would be even more meaningful as we realize how much God has done for us. When I see a picture of exactly who I am and who He is, it brings lament first and ends in praise and celebration.
Debt is selling our future for an immediate satisfaction (lust), thus the direct correlation to sin. Habitual debt is also a measure of how little we trust God to provide what we need and how much more we value what we want instead of what He’s offering. The real sin of debt is that it robs us of our freedom to live for God in His will rather than as slaves to the next bill or our credit rating. It also enslaves our families and teaches our children that immediate gratification is all that matters. In the Old Testament, God commanded His people to observe the year of Jubilee, so that every seven years all loans were forgiven for this very reason. He knew how quickly the people would sell their freedom and futures for a new outfit or ride, and how gladly the greedy would enslave them and their families forever in debt if they could.
Yes Brenda, I see what you are saying. I’ve been on that performance merry-go-round for many years myself, which prompted the question. thanks for the clarification. : )
Yes – totally get this in too real a way. The Lord has just rescued me from fornication with my ex-husband who was living with another woman. The compromise began so subtly that I didn’t even realize I was sinning.
Now I am totally shocked at how disrespectfully I treated this poor woman and her children (although she doesn’t know). NOT TO MENTION that I flagrantly had sex outside of marriage. This coming from an abstinence counselor – yep you heard me right. And after the sex, he ended it with me.
So, devastated and alone, my wonderful Jesus came and lifted me up, cleaned me off and filled me full of His perfect love. I see clearly now, how utterly I turned my back on Him for an idol.
Todd’s words in “Did you mean me” used to really crush me. But now when I hear “You said, you’d never leave or forsake us, but when you said that, did you mean me?” And I can Yell “Yes! Yes, Jesus meant me!
I tend to believe that the biggest obstacle in regards to bad credit is deeper than what appears the surface. I feel as though the problem is actually as much emotional as it is financially. Where there is overspending, not only is there a financial gap, but an emotional one as well that needs to be addressed Just something to think about