“Debt is an efficient tool. It ensures access to other peoples’ raw materials and infrastructure on the cheapest possible terms… Market saturation ensues, reducing exporters’ income to a bare minimum while the North enjoys huge savings.” Susan George, A Fate Worse Than Debt, (New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1990)
When we talk about debts in church we are usually referring to how we have sinned against God and against one another. Jesus told a parable about a manager who was accused of squandering his master's property and then of dishonesty for how he significantly reduced what his master's debtors owed. However, to our surprise the master commends the manager for his shrewd actions. Somewhere in this parable is a hint that forgiveness involves real action. Forgiving debts is not just about forgiving those who have sinned against us as individuals and saying,"I forgive you". Forgiving debts is also a matter of justice and that dropping the debt of the debt-ridden poorest nations of the world is about real forgiveness.
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