In ver. 7 of Romans 13, Paul admonishes us to pay all our debts.  He now broadens the thought from taxes owed to paying our debts in general, with a special emphasis on love.

Romans 13:8-9 (ESV)
⁸  Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹  For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Is this a prohibition against borrowing money?  No, there are many places in the Bible where the concept of borrowing money is, not only justified, but encouraged (Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy 15:8-9; Matthew 5:42).  This admonition from Paul is a command to pay our bills on time.  This implies the charge to be responsible with our money and not to accumulate debt that we cannot pay back.  To ignore a debt, is to violate the principle of this passage.

Sometimes when people get in over their heads financially, it is due to having a materialistic mindset.  It stems from having a craving for the things of this world, leading to overspending.  We should all remember the advice that Paul told Timothy to give to the brethren.

1 Timothy 6:6-9 (ESV)
⁶  But godliness with contentment is great gain, ⁷  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. ⁸  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. ⁹  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

Let us not seek after the riches of this world, but instead, pursue the wonderful riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8).   When we have the right attitude toward both material and spiritual things, it will help us to avoid owing man more than we can repay.

There is one thing, however, that we owe and can never pay in full and that, of course, is love (ver. 8).

The word love here is agape and it points to action.  To love someone is to always act in their best interest.  This is why Paul says that “love does no wrong to a neighbor” (ver. 10).  Think of what a better place this world would be if everyone was constantly making payments of love to everyone else.  Life on earth would be a perfect place of harmony.  There would be no wars.  There would be no violence.  There would be no need for prisons or courtrooms, etc.  Why?  Because love is the fulfillment of the Law.

Be sure to read 1 Corinthians 13 and discover how love acts and then make sure you are acting that way.  It is a debt that God demands we pay every day.  In our day-to-day interaction with people, there is never an excuse to act without love.  Let’s be wise and pay all our bills, especially the bill of love.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things