Owe no man anything

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. – Romans 13.8

I like the simple instructions of scripture. I like it when it is clean and plain and easy to understand.

Romans 13.18 is one of those simple passages that is convicting in its simplicity.

‘Owe no man anything.’ While it may be a little difficult and may an oversimplification to try and make an argument against any kind of debt here there is a pretty clear principle.

Debt, be it a financial debt or a debt of time, or owing a favour, or anything of the sort is always a form of bondage. When we are beholden to another they always have some sort of control.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22.7 that the borrower is as servant to the lender. It is not taking it too far to say that indebtedness is its own form of slavery.

So the principle is clear. God’s children should never be beholden to another. We should be free of any debt to that we are free to serve God without another master.

Except for one wonderful thing. We owe each other love. And there is a debt we can spend our lives paying.