king at the debt relief program based on a Christian perspective, there are many examples in the Bible when debt forgiveness is encouraged. For instance, in Exodus 22: 25-27, it teaches us to have compassion for debtors who are in need. We are to be compassionate as God is compassionate to us for all we owe Him in life. Also, in Deuteronomy 15:1-11, we are given a command to cancel debts at the end of every seven years. We are to be forgiving to our “brothers” and not be hardhearted or tight-fisted. Leviticus 25: 1-43 teaches of the Sabbath and the year of Jubilee. God tells us to take time to rest and reflect on what the He has done for us. In our busy lives, we constantly struggle to manage our time. As Americans, we sometimes forget how fortunate we are to be living in this country. I often think of the much poorer countries and people that live in huts on the ground who constantly struggle with diseases and barely make enough to live on. I then begin to realize how blessed I truly really am and thank God for what He’s done for me. This is why I think having compassion and forgiveness to those who struggle a lot more than us is not only good for those countries, but is the morally and ethical thing to do in the eyes of God.Despite all the positive advantages that go into a debt relief program, there are also some important disadvantages to look at both logically and biblically. One argument made by Fantu Cheru (January, 2001), the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, is that the HIPC is well intentioned but flawed. He says “the World Bank and IMF should not be given the exclusive role as overseers of poverty reduction programmers in poor counties. Other United Nations agencies should be brought into the process” (Cheru, January, 2001). This issue of giving the World Bank and IMF too much power over these indebt countries is a good example of how this debt relief program ...
