On October 31, 2024, a court in Russia convened for a decision in absentia of the defendant. The charge was that Google had restricted the YouTube access of its propaganda machinery and had supported “illegal protest activity”, and a fine was levied against the company. What is curious is that this is not the first time Russia has issued Google a fine. The first time was in July 2022 when Russia fined Google for not blocking YouTube content that was critical of its war against Ukraine. In that case, Russia levied against Google a fine of 21.1 billion rubles (C$577 million). Collecting on that fine must have whet Russia’s appetite. The court on October 31st decided that the transgression for blocking Russian content deserved a fine of two undecillion rubles. If you have no idea what that number is, you’re not alone. Even the Kremlin spokesman who stated it could not pronounce the word. Here is the amount in Canadian funds:
$30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
If you’re tired of counting, it’s thirty-six zeros after the number 30. By comparison, the International Monetary Fund estimates the entire world’s Gross Domestic Product to be $110 trillion. The number that Russia wishes Google to pay it exceeds all the money in the world, and Russia says that the number is increasing daily!
The ridiculous size of the fine might bring a smile to your face, except that Russia is dead serious. The implications are that it could take possession of assets, confiscate monies or even detain people all in the name of Google’s defaulting on a court-ordered debt. It reminds me of another debt owed that is unpayable – the debt of sin’s transgression. And this one is a personal debt owed by every member of humanity. In the court of God’s justice, Satan’s charge against us is that the payment for every sin is a sentence of death. The number is astoundingly high – 36 zeros and counting. It means that Satan can take everything that we have and claim everything that we are as his – in this life and then beyond. There is no escaping his jurisdiction; there is no wiggle room against his rights over our soul. Have a look at Romans 6:16. It’s called absolute and abject slavery. It sounds like an impossible situation until we realize what Jesus did on the cross. He paid the debt on the cross that we could never pay. And in asking Jesus to save us, His requirement is that we die with Him. Death frees us from sin’s debt and then He raises us up to newness of life in Him – a new freedom and a new future. Here is a thought: If you’re a believer in Christ, don’t act like you’re still a slave to sin. Don’t return to the yoke of bondage. If you’re not yet free because you’re still a slave to Satan, come to Jesus, the Giver of Life. And find your debt – 36 zeros and counting – forgiven.
Just Church
Here at Just Church, we focus on telling people about Jesus, the Giver of Life, and we help each one live in the freedom that Jesus gives: “The vision of Just Church is to establish a church in just the way Christ called the church to be – true to His Word, loving Him, loving one another, and loving the lost.”
