The story of working 9 to 5

Dan Harper October 08, 2025 4 1

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Luke 7: 36–43 (NIV)

36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

There are not many jobs left that are the ‘traditional’ 9 to 5 that Dolly Parton sang about in 1980, and lived out in the film of the same name. It is a great song about working hard, but the lyrics really hit when money is too tight to mention.

‘9 to 5’ is one of a host of what could be called ‘pay day songs’ that carry the burden of debt and the relief of the wages arriving in a brown envelope or in the bank via PAYE.

In our reading, Jesus tells a story about two debts. One big, one small. Both forgiven. Both matter, but one is somehow a clean debt, and the other is seen as unclean and untouchable. The suggestion being that even when the debt is paid, the nature of the debt lingers with the debtor. It tells us of a life where debts paid never really leave, but Jesus offers a different perspective and way to live.  

God’s mercy is something new: the debt is gone, the account is wiped clean, and suddenly we can breathe again. The money lender doesn’t care why you are in debt, your debt is forgiven. Forgiveness is payday for the soul.

Prayer:

Dear God, when we are weighed down, may your grace come like payday, bringing joy and freedom. Amen.