Don't fail in obligation...
"Owe
no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has
fulfilled the law." (Romans 13:7 ESV)
The
Greek word translated as "owe" here is ὀφείλετε (opheilete). It means
to "be under obligation" or to "not fail in duty." You can
look at it either in the positive or (seeming) negative. You can say the word
means "take care of your obligations" or "don't fail to take care
of your obligations."
The
phrase structure is critical here; truly, the phrase conveys this: "don't
miss out on the obligation God has given you towards all mankind."
The
word for "owe" in this verse corresponds to that for
"taxes" in the last verse. Romans 13:6 says, "For because of this
you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this
very thing." (ESV) Verse 6 tells us our specific duty to our government,
which is to pay our taxes for the stabilization and flourishing of our society.
The
transition into verse 7 moves from the specific obligations we have as citizens
of a nation in this world to citizens of the Kingdom currently stationed in the
world.
The
Apostle Paul is basically telling us that when we have paid all your other
debts, taxes, and dues, and honor, and respect, and whatever else you may owe
to whatever or whomever we might owe, there will still be one debt unpaid, and
always remaining unpaid, and that is the universal debt of love.
Love
must be the root and spring of all your actions. Fact is, if we would live by
the law of love, no other law would be needed.
Love
is not simply an emotion we can choose to indulge or ignore. It is not a wave
of mushy emotions to seek or reject. Love is benevolent, sacrificial action
that serves another's need. According to the Bible, every believer owes it to
every person all the time. The Apostle Paul puts it to we who believe as an
obligation, as a duty.
Today,
brothers and sisters, I pray the Spirit puts the challenge before us to
activate this good theology. If we do, we may not change the world today, but
our own world will be changed today because of it.
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