Matthew 5:23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
I was thinking the other day about debt. As a student I am in the process of still accumulating more and more. It is shocking and troubling every time I see how much I owe to the government.
As I continue with my schooling, and plan on taking another year and finishing the degree I started (I don't think it is right not to finish what one starts either) I feel a little but like a hypocrite, saying that it isn't the way that it should be but at the same time adding to what I already have.
I trust that God has called me to my education that I am pursuing. I have no doubt that God can use me and what I am learning, but I am fully aware that debt is not the way that God designed it to be, and it will be something I will need to deal with in a very intentional way.
I don't know why exactly this verse came to mind or convicted my heart. There are many other verses that deal directly with money, and how we can only serve one master. Maybe it is because I have become satisfied with the idea that I will never be monetarily wealthy, and to some I have heard on this it seems that that is the goal.
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar...." I have my heart on serving the Lord. More specifically I see myself involved in a ministry position somewhere when I am finished with my education. I want to be a living sacrifice that Paul speaks of in his letters, but how can I offer all of me, when I am committed to repaying the debt I have accumulated.
There is hope "Leave you gift there in front of the altar" God isn't going anywhere. Getting into debt isn't something that will bar us from being involved in God's kingdom.
"First go and be reconciled to them;" God wants us to make it right. Make it a priority. It might be difficult, and surely you won't get out of it until you pay the last cent, but make it a priority. There are lots of tools and resources out there that help make this a possibility. Get a job, work hard, budget, sacrifice the luxuries, and avoid getting into larger debt.
"Then come and offer your gift." God is not going anywhere, and being free opens up more opportunities to be used by God.
Please don't get me wrong. God can and does use people who are in debt, he cares a lot about those people and their debt is nothing standing in between them and salvation or spreading the kingdom of God.
In a bigger picture I have heard and have been a child of the thought that students should pay for their own education and that student debts are simply a part of life. It has taught me a lot about budgeting and managing my finances, but I don't know if that completely meshes with what God has taught on money and finances.
Education is important, it seems like an almost necessary step in most careers, but if possible, shouldn't we encourage and help those around us not to get caught into being tied down to so much debt?
I have not come to complete understanding of how all of this works together, or even exactly how long it will take me to "First go and be reconciled to them;" but I know that it will be a priority, and I will do everything that I can to reconcile my debt so that I can fully serve God.
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