Slaves to Debt

"Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?" Romans 6:16

There is a movie entitled "The International".  While I have not seen it, it was playing on a TV where I was this week.  One particular scene caught my attention.

Apparently, the plot of the movie is about two people trying to prove that international banks are engaging in corrupt activities ranging from organized crime, government destabilization, and arms trading.  In this particular scene, the two investigators confront Umberto Calvini (an arms dealer and political candidate) about this relationship.

Although they are speaking about international banking in the movie, I felt they could have been speaking about Satan himself.

DA Whitman: Mr. Calvini, we’d like to know why the IBBC, a bank would be purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of missile guidance and control systems from your company?

Calvini: The IBBC has purchased billions of dollars worth of Silkworm missiles from the People’s Republic of China which they have presold to clients in the Middle East. Contingent upon the missiles being equipped with VOLCON guidance systems. My company is one of only two in the world which produce the VOLCON.

DA: But why is the bank committing so much of its capital and resources to the sale of these missiles?

Calvini: It’s a test. Small arms are the only weapons used in 99% of the world’s conflicts and no one has the capacity to manufacture them faster and cheaper than China. What Skarssen (IBBC CEO) is attempting to do is to make the IBBC the exclusive broker of Chinese small arms to the Third World. And the missile deal is the gateway transaction.

Lou: Yeah, but billions of dollars invested simply to be a broker? There can’t be that much profit for them.

Calvini: No. This is not about making a profit from weapon sales. It’s about control.

DA: Control the flow of weapons, control the conflict.

Calvini: No, no. The IBBC is a bank. Their objective isn’t to control the conflict; it’s to control the debt that the conflict produces. You see, the real value of a conflict, the true value is in the debt that it creates. You control the debt, you control everything. You find this upsetting, yes? But this is the very essence of the banking industry, to make us all, whether we be nations or individuals slaves to debt.

This is Satan's objective with mankind as well; to keep us as slaves to debt - the debt of sin. 

"Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin." John 8:34

Due to sin which occurred in the Garden of Eden, mankind acquired a debt for sin which was owed to God (Romans 5:12-17).  As one brother once put it, it is like what those in the United States might call the national debt.  It gets compounded over time and passed on to each new generation virtually ensuring that it can never be repaid.

Yet Jesus did (Romans 5:11)!  The Son of God came as a sinless offering and laid down His life for our sins.  Jesus not only paid the debt for all sin, but in Him we also have power over sin. 

"I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:19-23

We must understand that - just like the banks - Satan uses conflict as a means to an end: debt creation. He is not simply trying to make our lives miserable (such is just an added bonus for him).  He is after our freedom in Christ (II Corinthians 3:13; Galatians 2:4, 5:1; II Peter 2:19-22)!  In each conflict he is sifting us, seeing if we will forsake the liberty we have in Christ only to be brought back into the bondage of sin.

"...for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." II Peter 2:19b

So in your next trial, don't be distracted by Satan's fiery darts, but remember that you already have the victory in Christ whereby you can live! 

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Romans 8:12-13