Debt of Honor

I recently listened to a podcast of Ric Prado, a former secret agent for the CIA who had a notable career. The interviewer asked him, “What led you to the CIA?” As a Cuban immigrant, Prado responded, “I’ve spent my entire career of almost 50 years trying to pay back the USA for taking me and my family in from the troubles that existed with communist Cuba. . . . As hard as I have tried, I still do not believe my debt of honor is satisfied.” Prado believed that he needed to repay the USA in acts of sacrifice and service in view of the many blessings that the USA had given he and his family. Prado called this a “debt of honor.” When it comes to serving Christ, we can learn a lot from Prado.

In our service to Christ, we need to have a “debt of honor” mentality. This mentality relates to the glory Christ deserves. He is the God-man who lived, died, and rose for undeserving sinners. As recipients of that eternal gift of good, we have a duty to Christ. We never try to pay Christ back for what He did. That offends our Lord. We can never, ever pay Christ back for what He did. It’s impossible, so we should never try. What we can do, though, is be motivated to serve Christ considering the honor due His name. Christ has saved us from something far worse than communism; namely, our own sins. We owe Him our lives, so we must sacrifice for Him. We labor, exert, serve, and share because Christ is worth every iota of effort. We are duty bound to show the whole world how glorious our Master is.

Serve Christ like Prado served the USA—with a “debt of honor” mentality.

Pastor Chance