PART 7 I AM

What does it mean when God says you are a child of God?

7 

You Are a Child of God

Did you know that in certain states in America, a parent has no legal obligation to provide an inheritance for any of their children after they die? If they have a reason, or no reason at all, as long as the will testifies of this, then a child or children can be denied. Here’s another interesting tidbit about inheritance.

What if there’s more owed than what remains of the assets? Can the beneficiaries take the equity and not be responsible for paying off the debts? No, the debts must be paid off first.

If the heirs are children (under 18 years of age), they’re not responsible for a deceased parent’s debt. Did you know that in certain parts of the world, children can be held responsible for paying back the loans of their parents. When this happens, what transpires is what’s called bonded labor. Let’s take a further look at what this is all about.

 

WHAT IS BONDED [LABOR]? 

“We [don’t stop even if we’re] ill �" what if our debt is increasing? So, we don’t dare to stop. “[Other workers] tried to leave, but two got caught. They locked them up and started beating them. They told the workers, ‘If you want to go from here, you must pay [sixty-thousand] that is your debt.’”

Puspal, [a] former brick kiln worker in Punjab, India

Puspal is one of [the] millions of people worldwide exploited through debt bondage (also called debt slavery), which occurs when a person is forced to work to pay off a debt.  

According to [estimates,] in 2022, around one-fifth of all people in forced [labor] exploitation in the private economy are in situations of debt bondage. Thankfully, Puspal managed to leave her employer thanks to the support her family received from our project partners. However, not every victim of bonded [labor] is able to leave �" many live in fear of violence or of passing their debt on to their children. 

People who experience debt bondage have often been tricked into working for little or no pay. In many [cases,] [they’re] forced to pay off extortionate fees associated with their recruitment, [accommodation,] or food, with no control over the debt they have accrued. Most or all of the money they earn goes to pay off their [“loan.”]  

In many cases, people who experience debt bondage work far more, and for far longer, than it should take to pay off their loans, working tirelessly without seeing an end to their debt. Recent data shows that the initial months of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a rise in reports of debt bondage, as many workers were unable to borrow money through formal channels.  

Bonded [labor] has existed for hundreds of years. After the Transatlantic slave trade was abolished in the 1800s, many formerly enslaved people were forced into indentured [labor] �" a form of debt bondage �" for many years on plantations in Africa, the [Caribbean,] and South-East Asia. 

Today, bonded [labor] is most widespread in South Asian [countries,] including India and Pakistan, where it flourishes, for example, in agriculture, brick kilns, mills, [mines,] and factories. It often occurs alongside other forms of modern [slavery,] such as human trafficking. In some societies, debt is shared by whole families who have to work to pay off debts taken on by a relative. Sometimes, the debt can even be inherited by children, who are then held in slavery because of a loan their parents took out decades ago. 

In the private sector, unscrupulous [labor] brokers and recruitment agencies can trap people in debt bondage. Some charge steep recruitment fees to workers, which can include payment to secure a job or to pay for training and insurance. These fees can lead to debt bondage, leaving workers toiling for little or no pay until the debt is repaid. Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to this form of exploitation, for [example, if they’re] dependent on recruiting agencies. 

Many people in debt bondage have their passports and other ID documents seized by their employers, leaving the workers unable to leave [or living] in fear of being [criminalized]. Some victims of debt bondage face threats, [intimidation,] and violence from the people that exploit them. 

Although bonded [labor] is illegal, laws against it are rarely enforced, particularly in cases where people in power benefit directly from exploiting others. Like many forms of modern slavery, bonded [labor flourishes where corruption, poverty,] and discrimination are common. Limited access to justice, [education,] and jobs for discriminated groups make it difficult for them to get out of poverty.⁷⁵

Did you know that there are no constraints on your inheritance in Christ? The book of Galatians provides us with clarity on this declaration.

 

Galatians 3:26-27

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Under the Mosaic Law, until a son arrived at age, he was in many respects not different from a servant. He was under laws and restraints; and subject to the will of another. When of age, he entered on the privileges of heirship, and was free to act for himself⁷⁶ (Galatians 4:1-2). However, when someone responds to the gospel, they become a child of God, of full age, who’s free from the law and automatically admitted to the benefits of the sons and daughters of God. The phrase children of God denote those who’ve come into the full enjoyment, so far as the present life is concerned, of the position [which their new] birth had entitled them to.⁷⁷

So, if someone were to ask you to describe yourself in respect to your new faith, you’d say, I’m a child of God who’s been declared an adult to enjoy all the privileges and rights of my inheritance as a son or daughter of God with all debts paid for by Christ’s death on the cross.   

And because of such, the next blessing tells you what you’re called now that you’ve been admitted to the full rights of the family of God.