Today’s Scripture: Matthew 18:24-27; Matthew 10:8
If you’re like me, you read this parable and shake your head wondering how a person who was forgiven of so much could rightfully insist that one man who owed him so little pay up immediately. Absurd, isn’t it?
Verse 24 indicates the servant owed the king ten thousand talents. Conservatively speaking, a talent was worth $1,000, making the total debt at least $10,000,000! How did this man become indebted to the king for such an exorbitant amount? One possibility is that he had cheated on his taxes. Or, he might have been a nobleman who stole money from the royal treasury. Regardless, the king’s generosity is simply mindboggling. Without batting an eye, he canceled the excessive debt and let the man go on his way.
Obviously, Jesus used extremes in this parable to make a point about His followers’ responsibility pertaining to forgiveness. God is the King before whom we must give an account. If we put a dollar amount on every sin we have committed against the Lord, how much would we owe Him? My calculator couldn’t compute that amount.
Now put a dollar amount on the sins one person has committed against you. Who owes more—you or him?
We should give mercy as liberally as we hope to receive it.
- Why are we so quick to maximize the sins of others, yet we minimize our own?
- What causes people to be stingy in showing mercy?