Thursday, August 12, 2010

A couple shots from around the house:



And then a couple shots from our excellent vacation:





Debt

Being is debt is the worst. It feels like a trap. See, if you’re in debt, it’s because you couldn’t afford to pay for something in the first place, but you got it anyway and now the amount you couldn't afford continually grows more unaffordable all the time even though the whatever it was you couldn’t afford is getting more and more old and worn out. Wow. Not only that, but sometimes you may even get your debt turned over to a collection agency, which is about the worst feeling ever. I’m not totally sure what a collection agency is actually like, but when you get a notice from one in the mail, all you can think about is how much you like your thumbs, how useful they really are and how much you want to keep them. Figures of imaginary and very large Russians with big fists and even larger guns fly into your fragile mind unbidden and all you can think about is getting out of debt!

I remember when we got our first cell phones... we were newlyweds and didn’t know anything about anything. We got the phones, signed the contract and spent the next couple of days calling everyone we knew and talking to them forever. We had no idea that the first bill included two months fees plus a start-up fee. Combined with our naive and outrageous overages, our first bill was over $600!! And did I mention we were broke, collegiate newlyweds?!? It didn’t take long for us to open up the mailbox and find that little yellow slip of paper letting us know that our delinquent bill was being handed over to a collection agency! My heart dropped down into my shoes as I started nervously looking around for the Russians...

Being in debt is like being in prison, and until you’re free of it, your trapped. When you wake up, your joy is sapped and you wind up living the whole day in a state of oppression. Debt is the worst... unless its the good kind, that is. You see, the other day I was reading Romans 13 and it turns out that all of us are actually in debt all the time. You may not know it, but you woke up today in debt, and tomorrow, you will wake up in debt. This will be true of you for the rest of your life, and it’s actually a very good thing. Paul says, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.”

You are in debt right now to the people around you, and what do you owe them? Love. Here’s the thing about this debt though: it doesn’t have to be an oppressive prison. In fact, it can be awesome! The reason debt is usually so awful is because you don’t have the money; you can’t pay your debt. You don’t have what it takes. But this debt is different! If Jesus lives inside you, the love of God is flowing through you like rivers of Living Water, giving you the power to actually love everyone. It’s cool... it’s like, you have a debt to love everyone, but you can actually pay this debt, and what’s more, it feels good to pay it! When you ask God to give you the power to really love the folks around you, you’re being the person you were made to be, and nothing fills you up more than that. Halleluah! We’re in debt, and it’s awesome!



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