Are We Financially Responsible To Other People?|Part 2 of 2

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Are We Financially Responsible To Other People? (Part 2 of 2)|The Old Path
Bible references: Psalms 37:21, Romans 13:7-8
Extending a hand of assistance financially to someone is not necessarily a compelling act. We are not forced by God to be of help to a fellow brother in the area of finances. However, this does not forbid us from being a helping hand to people if we are in a position to do so.

God expects us to be compassionate to everyone around us. Many people use the phrase "I owe you nothing," and they use it as a form of justification for not helping someone out even though they are able to. If everyone treats each other that way, we wouldn't accomplish anything.

We should be benevolent to people in need. We shouldn't be so self-centered. It shouldn't always be about ourselves; we should put other people in mind as well. In the early church, the early Christians worked in such unity that no one in their midst lacked anything. They looked out for each other.

It was practically impossible to hear that anyone among them died as a result of hunger. They took each other as family regardless of their background or origin. That's the way God expects us to treat each other in our present day. We must not have a reason to give or be indebted to someone before we give.

But if peradventure we are indebted to anyone, here's a scripture that addresses that matter. In Psalms 37:21, it reads:

The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.

The scripture makes us know that borrowing without paying back is an act of wickedness. We should not walk on this path. If we are to be honest with ourselves, if someone were to owe us, we wouldn't be happy. The same way it causes unhappiness to us, that's the same way people are not happy when we owe them what they are entitled to.

God is highly against debt. Here's another scripture on what God has to say about debts. In Romans 13:7-8, it says:

(9) Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
(8) Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

God expects us to pay every penny to whoever we are indebted to, be it money or otherwise. God frowns at the site of debt. That's why He sent His Son to die for us. We were equally in debt. We were once defaulters against the law, and our lives were the price to be paid. But Jesus was sent down to earth to clear off that debt on our behalf.

We are no longer indebted to the law of sin because Jesus took our place. He was the only way in which our debt could be cleared off permanently. The only debt God approves of us is the debt of love to one another. This means love is always required of us for one another. No matter the amount of love we show to someone, there's still more we can offer.