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LL Christians know what it is like to owe an unpayable debt. We owed God a debt which we could not pay. Christ paid our bill for us on the cross... all we had to do was sign the receipt. In life there are times when an individual or entity owes more than can ever be repaid (Matthew 18:23-27). In such cases, what is one to do? First of all, Proverbs 17:18 tells us not to make pledges on future funds. We simply cannot be sure that we will have them. Solomon advised us to live within our means and to use what we have now, and no more. Of course, this flies in the face of our modern ways borrowing for everything. We may be comfortable with living on credit, but Solomon in his wisdom counseled us to live on cash. I remember the day that I cut up all my credit cards. It wasn't from principle so much as it was a matter of practical necessity. It's been about 15 years ago now since we stopped making pledges with plastic, and I have not regretted that decision even once. I've still made some very foolish financial decisions, but it is a relief to be heading in the right direction.
Now, as if our financial indiscretions were not enough to provide material for this sermon of Solomon, he closes this chapter with a lesson on another kind of unpayable debt - moral indiscretion. For men who forsake God's law, one of the ways that such a choice can affect us is that we may find ourselves wandering after alternate interests that are sure to get us into trouble so deeply that there will be no acceptable solution. Specifically, Solomon speaks of a man who pursues another man's wife. While financial and material debts can be satisfied, repaid, forgiven or otherwise dealt with (in this life), this kind of debt simply can’t (Proverbs 6:33).
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