FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS—UNFAIR POLICIES It was bad enough that Nehemiah had to contend with outside hostility, but in his very own camp the people were complaining that the rich were taking advantage of the poorer Jews by charging them exorbitant interest rates on money they borrowed. Taxes were high and with mounting bills, and the threat of foreclosure, many families were forced to sell their children into slavery just to survive. Nehemiah’s dilemma was not unusual. Today, such practices are still rampant in our society, although they are not as overt. Economists say a huge part of the current economic downturn is attributable to the mortgage crisis in which lenders loaned money to unqualified borrowers at high interest rates. The mortgagees found themselves unable to pay and within a short period of time their homes were foreclosed and they lost the money they had invested in the properties. How do you define “power”? Why is power so often linked with abuse and injustice? God requires that “justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry” (Amos 5.24). How can we work to accomplish that? Pray: Lord, in all my dealings let me be fair. Let me forgive those who have wronged me so they can see the light of God shining in me. Nehemiah 5:1-5 NLT 1 About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews. 2 They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to survive.” 3 Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.” 4 And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes. 5 We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.”
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 21:21:08 +0000
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