A Bank and Forgiven Debtors

I never think of banks as being biblical, other than violating the torah by lending money at extortionist rates. So a story about banks in the States forgiving debt for Canadian credit card holders caught me by surprise because of its Leviticus/Jubilee overtones. Chase Bank notified Canuck customers that they were discontinuing a couple of their cards and writing off existing balances. The happy guy above thought he was getting a notice of late payment and instead found out that his $6,100 balance was wiped out. Another customer, a student, admitted that "It's kind of like I'm being rewarded for my irresponsibility" for debts she racked up without much thought. 

There is a lot of debt forgiveness language in the bible, both in terms of relinquishing monetary and land debt, and psychological and spiritual indebtedness. The Presbyhooligans offer the Lord's Prayer a little differently than us Untied Church types  with the words "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Some Christians used "paid in full" language to describe God's love in Christ, although it is not quoted from scripture. 

You might recall the international Jubilee 2000 movement calling on lender nations and institutions to forgive crushing debt, many poorer nations struggled to address. It was based on the concept in Leviticus 25. Perhaps the best known part of the movement was the global campaign created to engage the music and entertainment industries called Drop The Debt: Make Poverty History. Among the supporters were Bono of rock band U2, Quincy Jones,  Muhammad Ali, Bob Geldof, and others.

Canadian author Margaret Atwood also explored debt in the Massey Lectures a decade ago and if I recall correctly she made reference to the Lord's Prayer of her childhood. 

Well, living debt-free in every aspect of our lives is a challenge to attain, or receive as a gift from God. And perhaps if we have been forgiven our debts we will "pay it forward" through our own gracious choices. I wonder if any of the Chase Bank customers will forgive the debts owed them, in whatever form they take? 

Do you have debts you need to forgive?