It’s true – He’s a Holy God. But the God of the Bible is not a hard, callous, unfair, uncaring and ruthless Lord. I’ve been reading through Deuteronomy and you could become distracted by all the rules and regulations laid down for God’s people back then. If you focused only on selective verses, you might close your Bible and say: “I can’t believe it! God was so nit-picky – like, does all that stuff really matter?” But remember, you have grown up in a regulated society. There are societal norms and practices you take for granted because they have always been there. There were no public health nurses to give guidelines for good personal hygiene back then as to what was clean and unclean, sanitary and unsanitary. Inoculations and antibiotics and medicine had not been developed to prevent the spread of infections and disease. The list of things we take for granted to day but was non-existent back then is endless. So make sure you look at the context and the setting of the verses.
But I love bumping into verses that give you an unanticipated glimpse into the heart of God. You think He is nit-picky and rather aloof and uncaring? Read through Deuteronomy and your heart will be touched by His compassion and sensitivity. Look at this section:
thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.
Thou shalt stand abroad (outside his house), and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.
And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:
In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee:
and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
(Deut. 24:10-13)
Because the poor man needs to borrow money, the lender might think he is in a position of power. Intimidation tactics would not be uncommon. But here, the Lord says, even though you are going to lend him your money, you must still respect him – you do not bulldoze your way into his house and take something of value and hold it until he pays you back. No – you stand outside and wait. If all he has is a garment or a piece of clothing for you to hold as a pledge, then make sure you give it back to him in the evenings, so he can sleep in it. Wow! Now that is sensitivity. You might think that God would not bother with such a minor detail – after all, who cares if a poor man who owes a lot of money has to shiver for a night? God does!!
Such business practices may not make sense in a dog eat dog world. “Well he owes me money. I have every right to make sure I get every cent back plus interest and to ensure I get my money back I have every right to take a lien against his car!!”
Yes business is business but no it isn’t. Christian business should be different from the cold, calculating, unscrupulous, win at any cost business practices that characterize godless society. Christian conduct in business must always be characterized by sensitivity, compassion and care. Does it make sense to the corporate mindset? No! And it probably didn’t make sense back then either – but notice the last part of the verse:
before the LORD thy God.
The bottom line for a christian in business is not the company’s Balance Sheet or the Profit and Loss Statement – the bottom line for a christian is the Lord’s perspective on whether it was righteous or not. It makes sense with the Lord!