Settle Matters Quickly
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called
sons of God.” (Matt. 5:9)
Matthew 5:25-26:
"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to
court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over
to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be
thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have
paid the last penny.”
To be a
peacemaker, to live in that place of prolonged happiness, indescribable joy,
and perfect peace in the kingdom
of God, settle quickly.
That’s all that Jesus is saying. He is not saying that we should never go to
court. Indeed there may be a time to take a stand for righteousness or for the
rights of others or even your own rights if your attitude is right and God is
leading you that way.
What Jesus
is saying is that if you owe someone something, pay up quickly before they take
you to court. If you don’t pay up, it will end badly, says Jesus.
Simple
enough, right? And yet we are sometimes reluctant to pay off our debt. “I
didn’t mean for that to happen…” Or “I didn’t mean to cheat you…I just borrowed
more than I can repay right now…”
Whatever
has happened – damaged property, slanderous accusations, unpaid loans, injuries
due to your negligence – make it right sooner rather than later. Pay it off and
be reconciled. Now. Or if you don’t have the money, set up a payment plan or
sell some of your stuff or get a second job or do whatever you have to do to
make it right and be reconciled. It might not be easy but God will help you
through it.
As you do
that, it will be as if a great load has been lifted from your shoulders. You
will be moving from the middle of a conflict to a place of blessed happiness
and peace as you become a peacemaker living in the kingdom and under the reign
of God. He will help you make amends in ways you never thought of and he will
give you the strength and perseverance to carry it through.
Maybe it
doesn’t seem fair to you. Perhaps the debt isn’t yours entirely or maybe it is
all a big misunderstanding and you are being blamed unjustly. Pay it anyway.
God understands and will help you. As you do, you will be following in His
footsteps. After all, when Jesus picked up the cross and allowed Himself to be
crucified on Cavalry’s hill, He wasn’t paying His debt, He was paying off the
debt owed by you and me.
When you
pay off something for someone else or go the extra mile to make something
right, you are doing it as onto God and by doing so are walking in His
footsteps, even becoming more like Him. You are sharing in the sufferings of
Christ, and by His grace you will share in His resurrection power and eternal
rewards as well.
Please use this blog for
personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family.
However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of
this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy
Brockett of New Song
Foursquare Church
in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him
at randybrockett@yahoo.com.
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