You Can’t Be Sorry Without Compensation

Leviticus 6: 4 – 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,

Leviticus 6:5 – 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.

If you offend your neighbor in a way that causes them losses, your forgiveness will be based on your compensation. If you deceive your neighbor and it causes the neighbor loss, a compensation must accompany your apology. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

If you steal what someone entrusted you and you cheat about it, your apology must come with a compensation. If you steal from someone, your apology must be accompanied by a compensation. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

If you breach an agreement in a business deal, and you make profit by deceiving others, you will only be forgiven if you make a compensation. Where someone has experienced a loss, you must compensate if you are sorry. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

6:2  “When anyone sins by betraying trust with God by deceiving his neighbor regarding something entrusted to him, or by robbing or cheating or threatening him;

6:3  or if he has found something lost and lies about it and swears falsely regarding any of these sins that people commonly commit—

6:4  when he sins and is found guilty, he must return what he stole or extorted, restore what was entrusted to him, return the lost thing he found,

6:5  or anything else about which he swore falsely. He must make full compensation, add twenty percent to it, and hand it over to the owner on the same day he brings his Compensation-Offering.

6:6  He must present to God as his Compensation-Offering a ram without any defect from the flock, assessed at the value of a Compensation-Offering.

6:7  “Thus the priest will make atonement for him before God and he’s forgiven of any of the things that one does that bring guilt.”

The compensation must include an additional twenty percent value of what was lost. Without compensation, you will remain guilty and will not receive God’s forgiveness. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

Neighbor represents anyone we deal with. After compensating your neighbor or friend or whoever, you must compensate God too. An offering must accompany your prayers for forgiveness. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

This is a requirement that sought to deter dishonest dealings. This is a requirement that ensured the regret is deep enough to affect our finances, the cause of our greed. Your apology must set you back financially so that the fraud gained nothing for you but only brought losses. Compensation made fraudulent transactions unattractive. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

The lost trust between you and your neighbor is hard to win back, but when they see the compensation plus an additional twenty percent, there is a chance some degree of trust can be won back. When you sacrifice your financial gains to demonstrate your apology, you stand a chance of winning back some trust. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

Luke 19:8 – But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Luke 19:9 – Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.

Zacchaeus demonstrated his apology by compensating those he cheated. Zacchaeus gave the poor half of his illgotten wealth. With the remaining half he compensated those he cheated by paying them four times more. Immediately, Jesus assured him of salvation. Compensation is compulsory. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

The decision and actions of Zacchaeus caused the people who had distrusted him, to accommodate him again. The public forgave him and God forgave him. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

Whether your neighbor knows about the loss or not, compensation is compulsory. Your neighbor may not know, but God knows. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

Are you sorry about the loss someone incurred to entertain you and you intentionally did not show up? Are you sorry about money the church gave you to make purchases but you brought substandard equipment? You can’t be sorry without compensation!

Are you sorry about workers you paid less in order to have money in your organization? Are you sorry about workers who overworked but you paid less or nothing? Are you sorry about abuse of workers to maximize profits? Are you sorry that you have fulfilled what you promised workers yet you can? You can’t be sorry without compensation!

Are you sorry about money sent to you for a project that you did not implement? Are you sorry about money you borrowed and haven’t paid? Are you sorry about money you took to invest but returned neither money nor profit? Are you sorry about a pledge you made and defaulted causing losses? You can’t be sorry without compensation!

Are you sorry about excesses awarded to you by court in a case you lied about costs and caused the other person losses? Are you sorry about someone’s property you took and kept quiet about and they had to buy another one? You can’t be sorry without compensation!

You can only be released from the compensation if your neighbor lets you keep what you should have compensated. The offering to God who too was offended must still be given. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

Compensate your parents. Compensate your brother or sister. Compensate your best friend. Compensate your neighbors. Compensate the church. Compensate your employer. Compensate your spouse. Compensate your children. Compensate your church mate. Compensate whoever you cheated. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

God knows when you do not have ability to compensate. As much as you can, please compensate. At least acknowledge willingness and desire to compensate. You can’t be sorry without compensation!

When we compensate, we gain lost trust to some degree. When we compensate we restore relationships. When we compensate God starts blessing us again in big ways. Lack of compensation prevents blessings. This is not easy, May God help us in Jesus’s name, Amen!

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