One of the most serious accusations of Christianity is that God is a monster because He approves of slavery. Currently in the world there are between 20 and 30 million adults and children being used for sex trafficking or forced labor and probably even in your own home town. We need to be very clear in stating that harsh slavery is despicable and God certainly does not condone it.

   Many versions of the Bible use the word slave to describe certain individuals but Hebrew words can be translated into different words in other languages and so we can see “servant” or “bondservant” used in the same place helping to provide a softer mental picture. If we dig deeper into the writings of the Old Testament we begin to see that this practice starts to take on a much different meaning.

   In those days people would get into debt just like we do today but the solution for non payment was a bit different back then. If the borrower could not pay the debt they would be thrown into prison, or they could willingly go into “slavery” to pay off that troublesome loan shark. They would literally write the amount of the debt on a sign and stand in the street. Eventually someone would redeem that person by paying off the debt and the debtor would serve the redeemer.

   It was an ingenious system that prevented bankruptcy because the government did not have to carry the burden of the loan, the person who borrowed the money was saved from prison, and the redeemer received a laborer who could be trained to go back into society with skills that would enable them to support themselves.

   According to Jewish law slave trading was punishable by death (Exodus 21:16). There were also laws in place to protect the servant (Exodus 21:10, 20, 26-27), the redeemer had to set them free after six years (Exodus 21:2), and if the person loved their master and wanted to stay and serve them they were encouraged to do so (Deuteronomy 15:16-17); certainly a far cry from the imagery that the word slavery brings to our mind in this day and age.

   It will be helpful, at this point, to focus on the redeemer side of this equation for a moment to better understand paying off debt. In Hebrew culture the first born son, upon the death of the father, would receive a double portion of the inheritance. Twice as much as the other sons in the family and, at first blush, this would seem like a great deal until we understand what it’s for.

   Sometimes the second or third born brother or some other close relative would get a little carried away testing the wine that had just been craftily made and crash his brand new donkey into the flower garden of the governor’s wife. First born brother would then have to go and bail him out of prison the next day when he sobered up. Not a very great way to have to spend that double portion.

   Anyone who was wealthy enough could pay a debt but it’s a lot more personal when viewed through the lens of a first born redeemer. This would be a person who knows and cares about the one who just messed up and is unable to get out of the predicament they stumbled into. The Book of Ruth is a wonderful example of this type of situation where Ruth and her mother-in-law are in a place where they are in need of help and Boaz steps up as the close relative redeemer.

   When we sin or transgress a boundary that God has set for us we incur debt upon ourselves. It’s very similar to credit where every time we sin we swipe a credit card and we don’t have to pay right at that moment. That debt begins to build but we never get a statement to see just how much we owe.

   I can remember being in the bank one day depositing a check and next to me was a young man with his mother. The bank teller had given him a statement of what he bought the previous month and he was examining the numbers with his mothers help. Apparently he had overdrawn what was in his account and couldn’t believe that he had spent that much in only thirty days. Just imagine how large the overdraft could be after thirty years.

   In the book of Matthew, Jesus tells a story of forgiveness of sins by equating it to an example of forgiving a debt. In this parable, the king represents God, the servant to the king represents you and me who owe a debt to Him, and the last person represents people who owe a debt to us. Here is what He said…

   “Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.”

   “The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, `Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.`

   “Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, `Pay me what you owe!`

   “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.` And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.” So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.”

   “Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, `You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?` And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” (Matthew 18:23-35)

   It is important to understand that the word “sin” is an archery term and means, “To miss the mark.” We often think of sinning as doing something bad like stealing a car or taking a life but what about all the times we are off the mark, just a little left of center? After all, God cursed every part of His creation because Adam and Eve ate a piece of fruit.

   In the parable Jesus told there are two monetary amounts. A denarius (denarii) is equal to one days wage so that amount was about three months of wages. A talent, on the other hand, is 6000 times greater so 10,000 talents is equal to about 150,000 years of wages. This example gives us a clear picture of how we could never hope to pay off the debt that we owe to God for our sins that have offended Him. No amount of being good can offset the debt that we have and some day God is going to demand payment.

   But, honestly, you’re a good person, aren’t you?