Money Problems
Do other people owe you money? Do you owe other people
money?
The answer for most people — to both questions —
is yes. What we forget though, is that the two are linked. As
long as we don't pay others, others don't pay us. And even
when we have good reasons for withholding payment — we
still suffer the consequences. Why should this be so? The
Torah calls this "measure for measure" — as we treat
the world, so the world treats us.
We cannot always know or see how "measure for measure" works.
Still, there are indications, hints for us to follow. We must
be sensitive to these hints. For, to bring positive change
into our lives, we need to make the first move — and
often the second move as well.
This is also true at a practical level. When we avoid paying
our debts, an ugly stain spreads on our inner selves. This
stain affects our thinking, our self-image, to such a degree,
that in subtle ways, others see it as well. Somehow, by being
bad-debtors, we attract to ourselves other bad- debtors, and
need to suffer the discomfort of their presence.
Paying Your Debts
The best way to rid ourselves of debts is to pay them. We may
need to face obstacles, various difficulties, before we do
this — but we can do it. First, however, we need to
recognize the difficulties. We need to identify the
obstacles. Here are the two main problems:
(1) A lack of money — this seems to be the most obvious
reason for not paying our debts. But often, it isn't a true
obstacle. For, when we begin to pay our debt, even a little
at a time, we find that it soon disappears. In an almost
miraculous way, resources to cover this expense become
available, and we can remove our obligation faster than we
ever thought possible.
(2) Greed-pride — this is the more real obstacle. In
our minds is a belief that others should bow down to us,
worship us, and give us their money. As such, if we owe them
something, we imagine that at least, they should forgo the
debt — they should give it to us as a gift. Our mistake
though, is that if we really want others to elevate us, we
need to elevate them first — and step one of this is to
pay our debts.
