Romans 13:6-10

⁶ For this reason you also pay taxes, because the authorities are God’s servants devoted to governing. ⁷ Pay everyone what you owe them: taxes to the ones you owe taxes, revenue to the ones you owe revenue, respect to the ones you owe respect, honor to the ones you owe honor. ⁸ Owe no one nothing, except to love one another, because the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fullness of the law.

paying the bills

One of my jobs in the Vann household is the daily paying of bills. I confess that I actually like doing that. There is something that feels good about taking a stack of debts, and producing a stack of paid debts. For that reason, I opt to pay my bills with checks, and send them in the mail, rather than doing it online. I can remember years when I did not like bill paying because there were always more debts than money in the bank to cover them. But, usually that is not the case now.

Paul encouraged the Roman Christians not to run away from their debts, but to pay them all – even their taxes to the despised –and often corrupt — authorities. The only debt that should be owed regularly is the continuing obligation to love their neighbors. That’s a bill that is due every day. Paul told the Romans to keep paying that debt every day. If they did so, the Roman Christians would never have to worry about keeping the commandments in the Law, because love does it all.

LORD, help us to pay our love bill every day.