And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. (Luke 10:30-37)
Today's Morsel: Placing and purchasing things on credit seems to be the way the world system is heading these days. I believe that every family has at least one credit card, and maybe more. When you don't have the money on hand, just charge it and pay a little bit here and a little bit there. Put it on my account and I'll pay it, they say. Most people don't realize that when you pay the little bit, it's going towards the interest, and you never get it paid off, and so you are servant to the lender, which is what Solomon warned us of.
When Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan, He said that the man helped one who was hurt. But because he didn't have enough to leave with the inn keeper, he said, put it on my account and I'll pay you when I come again. We see a few good qualities about this man. First, the Samaritan had a good reputation within his community. Second, He had proven to others that he could be trusted. Thirdly, he showed great promise to pay by putting something up front. Fourth, he allows brotherly love to continue and he was not afraid to entertain and help a strangers. Fifth, he showed us the principle of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. How's your reputation in your community? Can you be trusted? Is your word your bond? Do people know that you will pay when you say that you will, or do you have to keep getting notices of the debt as a reminder to pay what you owe? Even though we are not of this world, we live in this world, and we are subject to its system. Therefore, when it comes to our moral and rightful obligations to pay our debts, we must follow through. As Paul said, "Let not then your good be evil spoken of' (Romans 14:16).
Sing: He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone, to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, Amazing Grace, for Jesus paid a debt, that I could never pay!
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