Proverbs - Debt

Chapter 6:1-5

 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend,

if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,

thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself,

when thou art come into the hand of thy friend;

 go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter,

and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

                        If we have hastily agreed on a financial dealing, if we have entered into some sort of business dealing with a non-believer or committed our resources to that which we do not have the sure leading of God’s Spirit, we must do what we can to get out of it.

                        If you must lose the money, lose it.  If we can pay quickly and be released of such dealings, pay it.

                        We are not to be co-signers for another.  This places our relationships with others under great strain and the love of money can come and birth all sorts of evil.

                        If we find ourselves in great debt - don’t slumber while interest is accumulating.  Wake up!  Make a plan and stick to it!  We will then be as a bird delivered from a trap and fly again freely.

Proverbs - Owe No Man Anything

Proverbs 3:27-30

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,

 when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

Say not unto thy neighbour,

Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give;

when thou hast it by thee.

Devise not evil against thy neighbour,

seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

Strive not with a man without cause,

 if he have done thee no harm.

                        If we can pay someone back money we owe them but would rather use it on something else, we must reject such a choice and give it to them because it is good.  If we can help someone and it is within our power to do so we must remain ready and willing to do that good.

                       We must be careful to get along with those who are around us. Our neighbors, our co-workers, roommates, and those who work alongside us in ministry should feel quite safe from any sort of plotting or plans to punish or make life miserable for them.  We must remember that the Lord is the judge of living as well and He will render to a man what discipline he needs.  We must not analyze and figure out what others need from us.  Rather, we must seek to honor the Lord with our treatment and thoughts towards others.

Knowing God - God Takes Inventory

Rom 4:8

 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

The word ‘impute’ means ‘to take inventory’.  The Lord is the One who searches our lives and hearts and weighs us.  He is the One who decides what is sin and what is not sin.  The Lord is able to look into lives and when He sees sin, He decides if that sin is on the books.  When we place our faith in Christ and what He did on that cross, we draw upon His resources to cover the debt we have incurred before the Lord.  When the Lord sees our sin, He can also see the other ‘column’.  The column that declares that debt ‘paid in full’.  Our sin is still just as ugly and just as deserving of judgment as any person’s sin, but in Christ, judgment and payment was given and made available to all who would believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved.  When dealing with our God, it would be wise for us, who are covered by Jesus’ obedience, to consider what a blessing it is to not have our sins imputed to us.  It would be great also to consider others who have not had this experience yet.  Lord, thank You that we are blessed indeed to be considered cleansed and forgiven!