May the mumbling commence!
I like when companies allow for a grace period. It is a grace period to allow some days beyond the due date of the bill. Most public libraries have such a grace period for the books, CD’s, and movies that they lend out. Grace periods cover a multitude of sins – forgetfulness, lack of funds, unexpected expenditures, and time crunches. The operative word that we must remember is grace. Grace is giving somebody what they do not deserve. Grace is not litigating to get back every penny. Grace is not exorbitant interest.
I wince when I see the interest rates of most credit cards. The pain runs even deeper for those that rely on Payday Loan places and Car Title places. It seems that places like these are legal loan sharks preying on the vulnerable working poor. Sometimes it seems that they are on every other corner in town, so they must be doing great business. It is great business, though, not godly business.
Let’s look at God’s rules. In Deuteronomy chapter fifteen, the Lord commands that every seven years all debts among the people of Israel must be canceled. Say goodbye to all those astronomical health care bills and to the student loans (of which my wife and I have our share). Wouldn’t that be a feature that would help to bridge the gap between the poor and the wealthy?
How would that affect the loan business? The Lord inserts another “be careful” sentence for this very reason. It is in verse nine: “Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought, ‘The seventh year, the year for canceling debts is near,’ so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing.” Give without expecting anything back, because the Lord will bless the works of your hands if you do. No, we cannot out give God.
In verse eleven, there is another Scripture that Jesus quoted from – this time when the woman anointed his feet with pure nard, a very expensive perfume. The disciples were aghast that the perfume was wasted in this way – instead of being sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus told them, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
These words can be troubling to some, but I ask you to look at the full verse that Jesus quoted from (and expected his disciples to remember): “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor.” The disciples would always have this task before them, and they were to address it with the way they used their resources.
In chapter sixteen, I was struck by the communal nature of the main festivals. A pattern is set with the Feast of Weeks (verses 9-12). Everyone was to be involved in the celebration. Look at the passage:
And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name – you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, the Levites in your towns, and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows living among you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees. (11-12)
Yes, everyone was to be included – even the most vulnerable, who would have nothing to give in return. This part of the passage is in italics. The reason for doing this is given in the bold print: you were once slaves in Egypt. We were once slaves to sin.
Let’s include the vulnerable in our communities in our celebrations and worship. Let’s make it possible for them to come, with accessible meeting houses and with car rides when necessary. Let’s welcome in the people that many others (including us) may not wish to have present.
At the end of chapter eighteen, the Lord promises a prophet to Israel in the mold of Moses. This promise is in response to the peoples’ reluctance to have God speak directly to them. They had asked for an intercessor, a prophet; and that’s exactly what God promised them in verses 15-20. God will put His words into the prophet’s mouth, and all God’s people must listen to him and obey his words. If we don’t listen and obey God’s words through the prophet, then God Himself will call us to account.
This prophet is Jesus Christ. Let’s seek to walk in the path of Jesus and learn from him the true way to follow the Lord. Guide us, O Holy Spirit.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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