Seth Udinski, FISM News
It is no secret that the United States government is in serious debt, as earlier this year the nation eclipsed $31 trillion in national debt for the first time in its history. Now, the interest owed on that massive debt is likely to exceed the amount the nation would need to defend itself, according to a recent report from the Epoch Times.
According to the report, the US will soon be spending more money on this gargantuan interest loan than it is on defending its borders and citizens.
The nation has spent $730 billion on debt payments in 2022, spending $184 billion in the third quarter alone. In comparison, the Department of Defense had only allocated $720 billion in defense spending for 2022.
The Epoch Times also shared a graph that highlighted the uptick in the amount the nation is paying in debt interest overthe last twenty years, with 2022 Q3 showing a drastic increase. In 2002, the interest payment in Q3 was roughly $76 billion, still a shocking number but far less than the present day. The interest has increased by over $100 billion in the last twenty years.
This all comes as the Federal Reserve announced another basis-point hike earlier this week, in what seems to be a futile effort to curb inflation.
Many Americans are understandably concerned at the seemingly spend-at-will policies put forth by the current administration, as well as the rise in contributions to the national debt from both sides of the political aisle in previous administrations.
Many would agree with the words of the late financial expert Dan Celia, founder of FISM, who said often on his radio program Financial Issues, “We cannot spend our way into prosperity.”
Author’s Biblical Analysis:
For all Americans, we cannot miss the tragic errors of the leadership in the United States, who have woefully mismanaged the nation’s funds (which, keep in mind, are taxpayer dollars) and led the most prosperous nation on earth into embarrassing debt. These men and women have been called to a high standard of accountability and leadership, and their flaws are damaging to the American people as a whole.
But I do not want to simply focus on financial stewardship (although that is vital). There is a poignant gospel reminder to be found in this report, one that takes our eyes off of the chaos of politics and the economy and puts them on the Savior of the world, making atonement for the sins of the world on the cross.
The reminder is this – As massive as our national debt may be, it is nothing compared to the way every sinner is indebted to God.
To be clear, a debt of $31 trillion is no small amount in human terms. Yet compared to the debt we owe God for our transgressions, it is nothing.
Sinners in the Bible are described in many ways. We are correctly labeled dead, crippled, unrighteous, and filthy, but we are also correctly labeled as massive debtors. The question then is, “To whom are we indebted?”
It is not the devil, and it is not to one another. Because we have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard of righteousness (Romans 3:23), we now owe God a debt we cannot pay. Our sin has required payment, and we cannot foot the bill.
One of Jesus’s great parables that he told on earth, the parable of the unmerciful servant, paints this picture of indebtedness so clearly.
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. – Matthew 18:23-27
Of course, later in the story the servant turns around and withholds mercy from someone who owed a far smaller debt than he owed the king. Therein lies a great lesson that we must always be merciful if we are to hope that God would show mercy to us.
But I want you to notice the amount of money listed in this story. Ten thousand talents, in ancient Jewish currency, was shorthand for an innumerable amount of money. The servant in this story evidently made the political leaders in 21st-century America look like financial geniuses, because the debt he owed the king was an incalculable amount.
Friends, this is our indebtedness before God, one that we cannot pay.
This is where the light of the gospel shines brilliantly in the darkness of our sin. The One to whom we are indebted is also exceedingly merciful. He delights in canceling our debt, but He does not do it unjustly. Someone had to pay.
And praise God, Someone did pay the debt! The Lord Jesus Christ took our debt on Himself when He went to the cross to make propitiation for the sins of His people. He paid the debt in full, and now His people are no longer crippled under a weight we cannot pay, but free. We have been set free from our debt and set free from the sin that so easily entangles.
So when you are tempted to despair upon thinking about the current financial crisis in this country, turn your eyes to your Savior on the cross, who paid a far greater debt on your behalf and rose from the grave to conquer the enemy of death.
Because of Christ, we celebrate the benefits of being children of God. We rest in the truth of our Lord’s words on the cross – It is finished.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23