Last week at church I heard a quote, “It’s okay to be owed more than you owe.” The man teaching Bible class was quoting his Grandpa. Obviously it’s an analogy for Jesus, because we owe him the greatest debt of all that never would be or could be repaid. It also alludes to the parable of the man who owed a lot of money and his debt was forgiven, but then he turned around a refused to forgive a small debt.
Now, there’s being generous and there’s being naive. Is it naive to forgive debts? Maybe sometimes… Can we run a business if we never collect what we’re owed? Can we pay our own bills that way? Is it a way to provide for your family or your life? Not really…
Regardless, there are times in life when you can use your discretion and get by without collecting your debt.
In the Bible they forgave debts every so many years. There are lessons about the evils of usury and making income off of someone else’s misfortune. (Ya know… what modern America runs on…)
In Italy this year they are celebrating Jubilee. I don’t know what it means today, but in Bible times they forgave debts and left some of the fields fallow to recover from years of use.
It’s also just a really fun word to say… Jubilee.
Redheaded Jill 
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