THURSDAY May 11, 2017
The Debt Difficulty
There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.” - Nehemiah 5:3
Nehemiah listened to the different problems and situations the people had in their lives. The rich were guilty of exploiting the poor, even to the point of placing their own people under bondage. This injustice was against the law of God (Leviticus 19:10,15).
This internal crisis impacted the people in different ways. Everyone needed food (Nehemiah 5:2). Some of people owned land, vineyards and houses but they had to mortgage their assets, again their priority was to buy food (Nehemiah 5:3). Then other individuals had complained because their taxes were so high and they were forced to borrow money to pay those taxes (Nehemiah 5:4). All of these people were in a no win situation. The rich had no compassion or conscience they were greedy for money––it was every man for himself. Nehemiah was going to deal with all these difficult problems and situations (Nehemiah 5:5).
Many people today are well acquainted with the problem of debt. Most families have a house and a car, but they have no extra money flow, everything is tied up. It becomes a very difficult situation because there is no money to buy necessities––food. You may have material things but when the economy is not flowing, it really means nothing, because you are not able to afford the basics. What do you do? Sometimes it is a question of living within your means and getting out of credit card debt because of the high interest. But often there are loan sharks just waiting to take advantage of these situations among the poor.
As a believer we must never take advantage of the poor. It is important to consider others and be sensitive to their needs. Remember God is the one who is going to judge each of us so we need to fear the Lord.
He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker,
But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.
~Proverbs 14:31~
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