The following story appears to be an "urban legend," but is fun to read
nevertheless:
In March 1992, a man living near Boston, Massachusetts received a bill for his
as yet unused credit card stating that he owed $0.00. He ignored it and threw it
away. In April he received another and threw that one away, too.
The following month the credit card company sent him a very nasty note stating
they were going to cancel his card if he didn't send them $0.00 by return of
post. He called them, talked to them, they said it was a computer error and told
him they'd take care of it.
The following month he decided that it was about time that he tried out the
troublesome credit card figuring that if there were purchases on his account it
would put an end to his ridiculous predicament. However, in the first store that
he produced his credit card in payment for his purchases he found that his card
had been canceled. He called the credit card company who apologized for the
computer error once again and said that they would take care of it.
The next day he got a bill for $0.00 stating that payment was now overdue.
Assuming that having spoken to the credit card company only the previous day and
that the latest bill was yet another mistake, he ignored it, trusting that the
company would be as good as their word and sort the problem out.
The next month he got a bill for $0.00 stating that he had 10 days to pay his
account or the company would have to take steps to recover the debt.
Finally giving in, he thought he would play the company at their own game and
mailed them a check for $0.00. The computer duly processed his account and
returned a statement to the effect that he now owed the credit card company
nothing at all.
A week later, the man's bank called him asking him what he was doing writing a
check for $0.00. After a lengthy explanation, the bank replied that the $0.00
check had caused their check processing software to fail. The bank could not now
process ANY checks from ANY of their customers that day because the check for
$0.00 was causing the computer to crash.
The following month the man received a letter from the credit card company
claiming that his check had bounced and that he now owed them $0.00 and unless
he sent a check by return of post they would be taking steps to recover the
debt.
The man, who had been considering buying his wife a computer for her birthday,
bought her a typewriter instead.
As I read that story, I couldn't help but think of the debt that we owe because
of our sin. "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). But, for those who are in
Christ, that debt has been canceled -- we owe nothing. "There is therefore now
no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to
the flesh, but according to the Spirit." (Rom. 8:1)
Despite that fact, though, Satan continues to make us feel that we still owe
something (he's not called "the accuser" for nothing!). But listen to these
words of comfort:
"Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now salvation, and strength, and
the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser
of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast
down.' And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." (Rev. 12:10-11)
Praise be to the Lamb whose blood makes it possible for us to have a debt of
$0.00!
Alan Smith
Innisfil, ON, Canada
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