Restitution is Part of Saying 'I'm Sorry'

Leviticus 6:1-7

Sometimes Saying "I'm Sorry" Isn't Enough; Paying A Price Seals The I'm Sorry Deal

Soul Food

Leviticus 6.1-7

“The Lord said to Moses: ‘If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving a neighbor about something entrusted to them or left in their care or about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbor, or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit—when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the Lord, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.’”

Soul Search

• Have you ever wronged someone by taking something away from them?
  What did you take?
  Are you willing to talk about it?

• Have you ever cheated someone in a transaction or business deal?
  What did you do?

• Have you ever been complicit in covering up a sin of theft or cheating by lying about it to protect the guilty party?

Soul Moves

• Often, we don’t forget when we have stolen something or cheated someone out of something.
  Be honest with yourself and with God by confessing the sin to God and even possibly to another human being.
  Determine not to hide it any longer.

• God says in His Word that part of making things right involve the payment of restitution.
  Not only returning that which was stolen but also adding compensatory damages to the person who was wronged.

• Determine who you owe restitution to.
  Ask God to show you.
  And, determine how much more you believe God wants you to add to the amount you stole or cheated someone out of in order to make restitution.

• Don’t be surprised if the re-payment and additional restitution hurts.
  In God’s way of handling these things, it’s supposed to hurt as you pay a higher price back than you wanted to.
  The joy in it is that God is teaching you valuable lessons that hopefully you don’t have to learn again the hard way.