Paying your bill

While most of us wouldn't try this, one man tried to pay his electricity bill with a picture of a spider. Click here to see the article and read the email exchange between him and the power company.

3 of these exchanges are:

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles


From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.37pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead. I value the drawing at $233.95 so trust that this settles the matter.



Regards, David.


From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.07am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Thankyou for contacting us. Unfortunately we are unable to accept drawings as payment and your account remains in arrears of $233.95. Please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles


The problem for David was that the picture wasn't the correct 'currency' to pay the bill. Regardless of how valuable David thought his picture of a spider was, it would never satisfy his debt, because the power company didn't recognise it as a form of payment.

We're no different. We all have a debt to our Maker. We all have to pay one day for the wrongs we commit.

Some people try to pay for this debt in ways that are valuable to them: doing good deeds, being nice to people, walking old ladies across the street. We hear people say, "he'll be in heaven because he was a good person"

However, we have the same problem as David. It doesn't matter how good we are, it's not the correct 'currency' to pay our debt. Good deeds are not a form of payment recognised by God.

The bible tells us that the only way to pay for our wrongs, the only 'currency' that is acceptable is death. Either we die an eternal death, or a sinless man has to die in our place to pay that price for us.

That sinless man was Jesus and he paid our debt when he died on the Cross.

Let Jesus into your life - and let him pay your debt.