25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.i He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.(Matthew 18:25-31)
Thoughts: A key point of Jesus' teaching is "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." This parable illustrates the lunacy of wanting forgiveness but not giving forgiveness ourselves.
The master's servant probably got a good salary but he also ran up a large debt. The servant's servant had smaller salary and smaller debt but was treated as someone without rights. Even today, the rich who have debt are given a second or third chance whereas the poor are not. One easy illustration of this are car title loans that mainly prey on the poor and whose interest rates average 300%. In this parable the king sees how his poorest subjects are treated and is upset when he shows mercy but the one to whom he shows mercy does not have compassion and mercy on another. The debt was so great that no small price would pay- only the selling of the whole family. Perhaps the wife and children played a role in the debt being so great. The selling of a human being is a disgusting way to pay for anything. Yet, before God, our sins pile up to create a debt that we cannot begin to pay.
God is merciful and wants us to show mercy.
The master's servant probably got a good salary but he also ran up a large debt. The servant's servant had smaller salary and smaller debt but was treated as someone without rights. Even today, the rich who have debt are given a second or third chance whereas the poor are not. One easy illustration of this are car title loans that mainly prey on the poor and whose interest rates average 300%. In this parable the king sees how his poorest subjects are treated and is upset when he shows mercy but the one to whom he shows mercy does not have compassion and mercy on another. The debt was so great that no small price would pay- only the selling of the whole family. Perhaps the wife and children played a role in the debt being so great. The selling of a human being is a disgusting way to pay for anything. Yet, before God, our sins pile up to create a debt that we cannot begin to pay.
God is merciful and wants us to show mercy.
Prayer: Lord, you have had mercy on me. Let me be merciful to others.
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