The following parable makes me sad every time I read it.
Matthew 18:24-35 “When he (the King) began to settle (his accounts), one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Horrible, huh? The servant owed the King millions of dollars, in our day and age, yet he was graciously forgiven this insurmountable debt. He, on the other hand, would not forgive a few thousand dollars of debt owed to him. When I sit grieved at his lack of mercy, the Lord reminds me that this parable is representative of the unforgiveness which exists in the hearts of all people. As the parable is illustrating, believers in Jesus Christ were forgiven an insurmountable debt, but even with this inexpressible grace shown to us, we often have a difficult time forgiving the slightest of offenses made against us by our fellow sinners. You would think our received forgiveness would never be far from our minds and, in gratitude for this grace, we would do whatever the Lord commands, including forgiving others.
Colossians 3:12-13 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Unfortunately, we disobey God’s commands and we do it often, even refusing to share the grace which we have received with others. Why? I mean, we are all flawed, but what exactly drives this unforgiveness? There are several resounding and recurring themes in the Bible; commands made and warnings given regarding specific sins repeatedly in both Old and New Testaments. I believe that this failure to obey can be traced to weakness in one or more of the following areas.
Idolatry (making self or others our idols).
Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”
1 John 5:21 “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
Arrogance, thinking we are better than others.
Proverbs 3:7 “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
“Forgetting” that we ALL sin.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Partiality (towards self and others).
Leviticus 19:15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”
James 2:1, 8-9 “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”
Lack of righteous love for others.
Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
Sins such as arrogance and partiality leave no room for love, compassion, and forgiveness. They hinder us from remembering that everyone has their own “baggage” and flesh that they are living with. They only leave room for self and keep a person focused on how they “should” be treated by others. Such self-focus is the exact opposite of how we are commanded to live (see all scriptures above).
We must always keep in mind that there has never been anyone who was sinned against more or forgiven others more than the Lord. Each one of us has personally offended the Lord by our sinning more than we could ever be offended by those who have sinned against us. So, the next time we realize that we are holding a grudge against someone, you know that person whose name you hear and instantly “see red”, we must stop and remember what wretched sinners we are and how much we have been forgiven.
We must forgive for the sake of others, so they may see the love and grace of God through us.
John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
We must forgive for our own sake, so we will not remain in bondage and will avoid judgement for our sin of unforgiveness.
Luke 6:36-37 “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;”
Most importantly, we must forgive because we are commanded to and, in love and gratitude for our own forgiveness, want to obey our Lord God and Savior.
John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands.”
Love in Christ,
Monica Ledford