Pondering His Holy Word

We live in a punitive justice-seeking society where the rules are tit for tat or eye for an eye. People constantly seek retribution for things that happened to them or someone they sympathized with. On the one hand, some people still believe the 2020 U.S. Presidential election was fraudulent. On the other hand, some people are still convinced that other countries interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Even outside of politics, people often hold grudges for things that happened ages ago. We definitely live in a tic for tac society.
What does God command us to do about forgiveness? Well, Peter asked Jesus how often we should forgive. Well, Jesus tells the story of the king who wanted to settle his account with his servants. One of the servants owed 10,000 talents (several times more than the Roman empire collected each year in taxes). The king justly wanted his money. His servant couldn’t pay, and the servant begged the king to give him more time. The king had sympathy and forgave his entire debt. 

However, this same servant called the debt of another servant who owed 100 denari (100 days’ worth of work). Like this servant, the man asked for more time, but the first servant refused. He had the man placed in jail. Can you see the problem? One would think the servant would remember the mercy the king showed him and showed the same compassion to his fellow servant, but no. He had him jailed. The king called him out on it and threw him in jail. 
Now in the most literal sense, this is not about money. God forgave all of our sins, something that we can never redeem or repay. Yet, we hold grudges against our brothers and sisters. Jesus commands us to pray for those who curse us. God is clear that vengeance is for him alone. We don’t have the authority nor the depth of understanding to administer justice. The Lord, our God, sees things from a much grander perspective. He sees things that the intelligence of the entire world combined several times over could not understand. So we are to trust God and leave judgment to him. The debt of us all will have to be repaid either on the cross by accepting Christ or eternal damnation in Hell. 

We can never repay what the Lord has done for us, yet we hold on to the hurts and pains caused by other people. So instead of holding in that anger, you can show the mercy that the Lord showed us. Mercy relates to forgiveness or withholding punishment. Mercy is never deserved. If God was fair to us all, we’d all be in Hell, but he showed us mercy. 

 As a result, we should show the same mercy to our brothers and sisters. Anger can be enticing. Anger can make us feel good and justified, but our anger can also make us short sighted, covetous, and all too often, we take revenge too far. Forgiveness is leaving justice to God and trusting him. Mercy is withholding wrath and sending prayers and blessings instead and leaving justice to the Lord, Most High. 

Prayer: 

Dear Heavenly Father, 

You are the Lord, Most High. In your love for us all, you showed mercy and forgave our sins by giving your only begotten son so that those who accept you will not perish but have everlasting life. Send your Holy Spirit to work with us and teach us to show our brothers and sisters the same mercy. Only you can administer justice. Give us the peace of giving our hurt and anger to you so that we have life in your peace. In Jesus’ name,

​ Amen. 

 Matthew 18:23-35
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“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, 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.”