7/20/15

We all get them, sometimes monthly and sometimes annually; but no one likes to receive them!  They typically come in the mail, in plain white, legal-sized envelopes, with a clear widow on the front that displays our name and address.  I am talking about ‘due bills.’
The due bill is a printed statement that documents and details an amount owed by a buyer to a seller for merchandise received or services rendered.  It includes a stated timeframe, which obligates the buyer to send a check or other form of payment to fully satisfy the balance owed, or some acceptable portion of it, by a certain date.  Failure to pay a due bill, for whatever reason, will have ultimate consequences in the form of repossession of goods, loss of credit, a lawsuit [resulting in greater financial liability], bankruptcy or even imprisonment.  I have personally never put this to the test.  I have disputed/refused payment on a few rare occasions.  Unfortunately, that has usually not usually ended with my vindication.  As a result, I typically wound up paying to protect my witness as a Christian, or my credit rating!
 
Last evening I read about the due bill that has come in for one… Mr. Bill Cosby.  His name and reputation have been universally vilified in recent weeks as details have surfaced about his sexual victimization of over 40 women [and counting].  Even the President of the United States took time in a press conference about an unrelated national security issue, to indict his character.  Cosby, once called ‘America’s favorite dad’ has been exposed by his own confession in a 2005 deposition for drugging and assaulting multiple victims.  The due bill for his past admitted immoral and criminal behavior has arrived.  Let it be a lesson to thinking people. 
 
Numbers 32:23 says, “…you may be sure that your sin will find you out.”  It’s just true… the things done in secret will be shouted from the housetops. 
Luke 8:17, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”
 
Ecclesiastes 12:14, “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
 
Sobering passages… but so important to remember as we live our lives each day and make value judgments and decisions that will be the rewards we receive or the consequences face in the future. 
 
Pray with me… Father God, we know that everything is open, all things are known and laid bare before your eyes.  We humbly promise to confess and forsake our secret sin to receive your forgiveness and live in your grace day by day.  In the name of the One who makes this possible by His death and resurrection… Jesus, thank you for paying our sin debt in full on the cross.  Amen.