“Indebtedness”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, February 9, 2024
Romans 13:1-14 (Forward, p. 11) CEV p. 1184
Given the state of countries and their governing structures both nationally and around the world, I must confess that I had problems with some of Paul’s advice in today’s passage. Certainly, I have reservations about our needing to obey without question those who ‘have authority over us.’ And, while we are bid to respect them and pray for them in terms of their official position, I am not sure that I can do so with some of them on any personal basis, given how they sometimes behave. And, as for Paul’s allegation that they have all been placed in those places of authority by the will of God, I do have some trouble with that as well, given the political wrangling and infighting, and partisanship and unmitigated nastiness, that has come to characterize so much of our political landscape. To be honest, I have trouble seeing the direct hand of God in much of this.
It is here that I found noted Bible commentator William Barclay to be of great help. He suggests, at the onset, that much of the Jewish society of Paul’s day was an unruly, rebellious lot, always ready to rise up and question and cause problems for government. And does this not sound like certain segments of our world today? It seems as if some people are always looking for something to complain or protest about or sue the government concerning.
Then Barclay goes on to talk about our lives in community, about how the state provides us with services, protections, and privileges that we should be duly grateful for. And, in light of these, we should not only be grateful but also lend our help and support to these most necessary institutions.
But Paul’s chief argument was that the state, government in general, was a God-ordained means of providing order and stability to people’s lives, and so too, was the rule of law. And so, we ae duty bound, indebted, to support it. That it didn’t always ‘work’ quite the way that God intends doesn’t negate this sense of indebtedness. And, perhaps, given this failure, it means that we should be even more diligent in praying for it and working to support and encourage the policies that we feel that God would want.
But this is not the only indebtedness that the apostle Paul makes mention of in today’s passage. There is also the indebtedness that we own to one
another, namely, to love each other. Surely this, above all, is what the Law demands. And then, there is one final kind of indebtedness, which is to make good use of whatever time is left to us of our time on earth. God has given us the privilege of living in this time, and so we should make the best of it, by living responsibility, soberly, and peaceably. We should so seek to live in the near presence of Christ that all selfish, worldly desires will simply ‘fall away’ as now being quite unimportant to our lives.
Well, if you find this but sobering, and challenging, sobeit. Thank God we have His help and His direction as we seek to do so. Amen.
Forward notes: “Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law” (verse 10).
“The Golden Rule is a wonderful guiding principle in our lives, but for many other women and me, we love others and struggle with loving ourselves. Sometimes, we will ‘indulge’ in loving ourselves after we pour all our love into others, but society teaches women to love themselves last and least.
“The whole Bible witnesses to this: love does no wrong to a neighbour. But what if the neighbour is me? I find that it’s easier to love my neighbour and sacrifice myself. My head knows that’s not what Jesus is asking us to do, but I find that women’s hearts often default to caring first for our families, extended families, and jobs. Sacrifice is the expected norm. We care for ourselves only if we have the time, which is considered a great self-indulgence.
“May I carry this verse in my heart to remind myself that I, too, am a beloved child of God and that it is right and holy to treat myself as one.”
Moving Forward: “This week, be deliberate about showing yourself love and compassion.”
Some concluding thoughts: Well does the author of today’s Forward Day by Day meditation make a point about women and how often they have put themselves and their needs last, before everyone else. But I would suggest that they are not the only ones. In many family constellations one child has devoted him or herself to looking after the farm or business or to caretaking and caregiving an elderly relative. And often shop owners and businesspeople have devoted themselves to their work, often at the cost of neglecting themselves and their families. Judging from the police crime
shows we have watched of late, I would suggest that some law enforcement officers also do the same, being so focused on their work that everything else suffers. And certainly, I would say that clergy can fall into the same trap. And so, self-care, self-love, can be neglected by many of us, but remains important and necessary for all of us.