“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
Romans 13:8 ESV
This is a scary commandment because it brings into focus who and what we think is ultimate in life. And it radically challenges the social, political, and economic ideologies of our time. All anxiety and strife has its root in man’s fractured relationship with God. Therefore, the answer to these things is in Jesus Christ. Owing no one anything means we know we’re owned by God alone. And this also means we’ll be content wherever we are, no matter our circumstances. And we’ll respect our neighbor’s freedom too.
A man can tell you over and over again that he’s your friend but if he always betrays you, his words are hollow. This principle applies even more so to our relationship with God. The thing to do is to take the entirety of Romans up to this point and place it upon verse eight of chapter 13. We must be careful not to drop the context. We owe everything to Him who saved us. He saved us from the GREAT EXCHANGE (which we made) of the truth for a lie. He brought us from the bondage of sin and idolatry back to Himself. All things come from Him and we find the source, the substance and goal of our lives in Him and Him alone. The whole of it is this: do we know a big God or a little god…are we big Godders or little godders?
Points to note from this verse.
No one has any authority to place moral obligations upon another. Since all authority rests in God, all other authorities are sub-authorities. (And since there is authority in life, that proves the existence of the self-existent triune God because there can be no lesser without the greater). Wrapping our brain around God’s absolutism and His mercy toward us in Christ changes literally every aspect of our lives. For example, let’s look at our vocations.
A boss has a right to reasonable control over his/her employees only within the framework of the job that needs to be done. A job’s goal is the service of neighbor in the name of the Lord to which a profit should be made. The goal of the job isn’t merely profit as many wrongly assume, but the quality of the service/product so that the Lord may be praised and the servants (boss and employees) grow in sanctification.
Again: the primary goal of a business isn’t profit, but service of neighbor through excellence in the calling of the Lord. Authority is abused when this is confused and profit is the ONLY thing sought by labor rather than a derivative BENEFIT of quality.
A job/vocation that takes one away from family and worship on a consistent basis is usually guilty of elevating its purpose of profit above the purposes of God. The purpose of life is worship, not work. Work is action through which worship is lived as men and women are called to subdue the earth – that is, work in their vocations.
Owing no one anything is the Scriptural basis for free markets and productive labor. Since we owe God everything and are to devote our lives to Him, we see our vocations in a vastly different manner than the world. Rapacious owners/bosses play god over employees when they set work standards that are unbalanced. For example, consistent overwork is spiritually and physically unhealthy. A free market and lack of personal debt are the best defense against this abusive tendency of living in a fallen world. An abused employee can quit their job and go work someplace else. Or an employer, who has property rights over the business, can fire employees who they believe are unproductive.
Countless men and women toil away at jobs, not because they love them and find them rewarding in the Lord, but because they pay enough to support an arbitrary standard of living. The life goal of a Christian should be faithfulness to the One who saved us and loves us, not meeting arbitrary material standards to which we sacrifice our all. Simplicity of living comes on in Christ. Conflicts between employer and employee, or labor and management if you prefer, occur when our goals shift from God to self. Making other owe us, or going into mindless debt, are both symptoms of losing our focus.
No coercion is used in a Godly world. The Biblical mandate is that force and/or regulation over the property and labor of others is forbidden. Owing no one anything also means we can’t make others owe us. A union, therefore, is an immoral use of force against the property rights of a business. Marxist theories are worse than unions and are highly destructive to the social peace. The Biblical remedy is competition within a free market. Unions, like government/Marxist regulation, is immoral in that it makes people owe something other than love. Christians who have hate for this elementary truth should consider how a union or government interference in free choice glorifies Jesus Christ. A Christian who insists that force/regulation can and should be used against private businesses must explain how that isn’t a violation of this commandment. More still, they must explain how that’s not a violation of the commandments this one is based on – namely, thou shalt not steal and thou shalt not covet.
Almost the entirety of modern politics would disappear in a puff of smoke if everyone believed this simple commandment. Indeed, the law of the Lord is perfect! Our insistence upon covetousness leads us to ingenious ways to steal through government regulation. Political freedom is the consequence of our obedience to Scripture’s prohibition against covetousness and theft.
Also, owing no one anything implies that one’s labor should be fairly rewarded. No Christian is called to give the products of their labor away for free. The goal of Christian labor should be the glory of God through excellence in work that serves our neighbor. The poor worker is a brother to him who steals and destroys (Proverbs 18:9). No Christian should ever be a poor employee/worker. Ever. Just as well, all Christians should seek balance in their labor. Work is hard and frustration is a real thing because of the curse of God upon sin. This was why Jesus had a crown of thorns upon His holy head, by the way…it showed that someday He would redeem us from the curse upon human labor. Unions and government interference in the free enterprise of citizens is a direct assault upon the faithfulness of God. Being frustrated isn’t a sin, but part of life under the sun and its meant to bring us to Christ.
Owing no one anything means – horizontally (in relationships) – always seeking a win-win. No one serves us, nor are we forced to serve. All business relationships and transactions should be done, therefore, with the intent to create mutual benefit. Watch the language of American business and politics and notice the greed and selfishness at the bottom.
If the labor we’re called to do (providing that it’s Godly and productive) doesn’t pay enough to fulfill our needs (note we didn’t say wants), we’re obligated to do something else. Needs are, of course, the ability to provide for oneself and family. What this means for each person/family is different. But income isn’t the only thing in the consideration. Accepting lesser pay for greater freedom and family time is often a better path whereas greater pay with longer hours is often destructive. Each person should decide for themselves and no force/coercion should enter the equation.
We must also be reminded to avoid consumption through debt.
America is a debt nation. We call ourselves wealthy when, in fact, it’s a nation of bondage. Would slavery be okay in the 19th century if the slaves had air conditioning and weekends off? Let us not confuse creature comforts with freedom in the Lord. Owing no one anything is the Scriptural basis of civil and political freedom. No person or entity has the moral authority to place “oughts” and obligations upon others not prescribed by Scripture. The point isn’t only that you owe no one anything but that no one owes you anything either. To willfully go into debt is a dangerous business for Christians (and everyone else, but especially Christians who’ve been redeemed from the bondage of sin in the first place and, therefore, should know better). Business debt is acceptable insofar as it’s manageable and the goal of the business is realistic.
Debt is often an early sign of immorality because it shows one’s (or the nation’s) refusal to be content in the Lord. It’s a sign of greed too. Lack of contentment for Christians is like a sign that should send you to the doctor. Something is wrong. Christ is all sufficient. America at present is marked by insatiable greed, coveting, resentment and bitterness. In an age of unprecedented leisure and material abundance, our society is wrought with acrimony. It proves that man’s appetites can’t be filled outside of Christ.
Today we see home prices skyrocketing due to inflationary monkeying of the monetary system. Wall Street, Main Street, and the home street are all infected with the cancer of covetousness. The American financial system is a smoke-and-mirrors disaster waiting to happen, built atop a once Biblical foundation of productivity and savings. America hasn’t been a truly free-market for decades and the moral center of the nation has been warped by the bribery of funny money and debt. Christians should be duly warned not to get into bed with Jezebel.
Lack of contentment and bitterness creep into the spiritual vacuum left when we don’t have peace with God. Fixing our eyes only upon what’s wrong with the world and our neighbors will keep us from seeing what’s wrong with us. And when we don’t see that, we won’t see the cross. And when we don’t see the cross we miss the unspeakable joy of the love of God poured into our hearts through grace! Yes, grace. The grace of God in Christ Jesus is ours through faith. This is why we aren’t to owe anyone anything – because we owe all to Him who loved us so much as to endure the cross so that we might know Him and be saved.
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