For give us our debts as we forgive our debtors

I watched the news in dismay. People going bankrupt. People losing their homes. People losing jobs. Darkness has gripped a nation it seems. And yet I look around me at so much wealth. I was watching Dateline. A woman stands in her opulent kitchen with solid oak cabinets and granite countertops and tells the reporter about how the credit card bills are mounting and they may have to file for bankruptcy. Cut scene to the same woman playing with child in their upstairs playroom. Along the wall are cubbies of toys. The baby crawls around in the midst of a sea of battery powered gadgets and Chinese manufactured plastics not sure which to play with. There’s something wrong here.

I grew up with a stuffed monkey. For Christmas I got a big wheel, a $50 plastic tricycle. I had no idea we didn't have much money. Jump back a couple generations. What did those children have? What type of credit crisis did our grandparents face? Let’s jump across the sea or over a border. Have you ever been to one of these places that don't live the same lifestyle as America? One of the most striking things for me when visiting these places is that children smile in the midst of abject poverty. Their happiness is not linked to their stuff.

Somehow we’ve gotten off course. Somehow we’ve fallen prey to a society that defines us by what we consume, collect, and possess. We’re not broke. We’re just in debt. And what advice can followers of Jesus offer? I’m afraid very little. We are surrounded by churches that have taken out million dollar loans on buildings. Our families sit in our pews and pay a tithe while upside down in luxury vehicles. We live and spend in the same way as the people who believe that once we die, there’s nothing more. “The one with the most toys wins.” And our response?

Now I understand the need to go into debt at times. School loans. Mortgages. Car loans. Emergencies happen. Yet when I look around I see commercials for “no payments for 12 months.” I hear the whispers of instant gratification and the allure of luxury. I feel the tremors of addicts needing their fix of societal approval and their daily $5 lattes. We have traded in living a life of contentment for a race… a chase… a desperate attempt to continually consume to fill some void or achieve acceptance. We have neglected the words of Jesus. We don’t recognize the eternal. We just see here and now. Scratch the itch or quench my thirst. The slogans: “Have it your way.” “Your world delivered.” “I’m lovin’ it.” “Just do it.” As long as I can pay the minimum balance. As long as it satisfies my current want. Then we jump, swipe, or check out. Food. Drink. Sex. Lust. Laziness. Wasteful spending. They’re all abused in this disease of instant gratification.

Some of my friends live down the road and they’re considered strange. They share. They don’t have many things most people consider necessities. But they pull together to demonstrate a different type of lifestyle and to tell a different story. People look at them as if they’re weird. Their kitchen doesn’t have oak cabinets or granite countertops, but it may have a few drunkards and unemployed folks. (At least a couple that don’t live there anyway.) Perhaps it’s strange to take care of others and live generously. But I want to be more like them than like the norm.

Generosity is only available to those who have something to give away. Therefore our goal should not just be debt free, but to be generous. To live in such a way that we’re not a burden on others, but that we can lift others up as well. We don’t lift them up because they deserve it or because we’re somehow noble. We are generous because we have experienced generosity. We have experienced the forgiveness of our debts in more than just monetary ways.

The early scriptures write about this Jewish practice of “Jubilee.” It was a period when all debts were supposed to be forgiven and everyone was supposed to start again level. Crazy, I know. Most scholars don’t think it was ever put into practice. But Jesus came proclaiming a new Jubilee and it’s one that I have participated in. It’s one that I hope I may live out as well. I have experienced how debts being forgiven in Jesus. Jesus is this guy that I’m convinced came not only to forgive, but to save. It's not just removing, but adding something.

And so I’m back to where I began. I'm reminded that we must strive to live debt free monetarily. But we mustn’t think that we are ever really debt free. We are indebted to those around us and before us. How will I ever repay my parents for their time invested in me? How do I ever pay back love shown to me by my friends and neighbors? How do I adequately pay back someone for standing by me? Money is shallow and empty in comparison. In life I am a debtor to so many beautiful people. And so I’m challenged to live richly towards others not only with my money, but also with my time and love.

I feel I’m incredibly inadequate though. I’m not sure I can ever fulfill that want that a new car or fancy new TV may fill in the life of someone else. But then I’m not sure those things really ever fulfill anything either. The only thing I’ve found rest in is trying to get my mind around what Jesus means by life eternal. It’s knowing that the temporary will fade away and will take all this shit around us with it. During this Lenten I find comfort in knowing that it’s okay to go without. It’s okay to do without something that I may desire. And in light of Jesus I’m reminded that it’s not just about doing without something I can’t afford or don’t need per se, but about redirecting that to think about people other than myself. Perhaps if I can get over my own selfish wants, I may then have a good start to be able to love and live a little better towards someone else.