Day 27: How many times should I forgive?!

Recap: The moral imperative given by God to us is that we love God with our whole being and we love our neighbors as ourselves. God puts people in our path every day, and it is for us to decide whether we choose to be neighborly to them.

Matthew 18: 21-35 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times! Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlements, a debtor was brought to him owing ten thousand talents. Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned. Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay his debt. When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and recounted all of this to their master. Then the master summoned him and declared, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your debt because you begged me. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’ In anger, his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed. That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Let us look at the economics:

1 denarius = 1 day's wage of a laborer, 100 denarii = 4 months wages;  1 talent = 20 years' wages, 10,000 talents = 200,000 years of wages;

It is possible for someone to have and even repay a 100 denarii debt. I wonder how the first guy ended up with such a huge debt of 10,000 talents. He probably wasted away a lot of the resources of the master. There was no way he could pay it, ever. In another parable (mentioned in Luke 7), Jesus mentions that those who have been forgiven much would love the master much more than those who have been forgiven little. But in this parable it doesn't look like this guy had any love for the fellowman, would he have loved the master?

While pleading for mercy, the servant tells the master 'I will pay back everything,' which seems impossible considering the economics. So, did he truly understand how much he owed to his master? Do we truly know how much we owe to our heavenly Father? Do we know that there was no way possible that we could ever repay Him? For if we truly know how much we are forgiven, wouldn't we love Him more?

Let us look at the transition:

There seems to be a transition in the status of the servants. Let us think about that.

Servant --> Debtor --> Slave --> Debt-free Servant --> Imprisoned  and tortured

The first servant is initially described as a debtor who was about to be sold to be a slave and probably punished in prison for his huge debt. Yet, on receiving forgiveness, it wasn't that he had to remain a debtor, but his new status was that of a debt-free guy! When he dreaded the consequences of his debt and pleaded, he received mercy (not being punished) and grace (cancellation of debt). Yet, when a fellow servant was in a similar place, this guy couldn't forgive and chose to punish the other servant, with the same punishment that he dreaded. Eventually, on being caught by the master, he ended up suffering a worse punishment. He didn't think twice to inflict punishment for his fellow man. He probably thought, 'O my master has so much money, forgiving 10,000 talents would mean nothing to him.' Did he ever truly understand the meaning and the cost of forgiveness?

At times we say, it is so difficult to forgive that person, that it is difficult to even see their face. Doesn't this imply that we think that probably it was easy for God to forgive? God hasn't condoned our sin. He didn't say, 'it's ok.' He forgave, He redeemed us. Forgiveness comes to us free of cost. But the cost He had to pay was huge!

Let us look at the Master's response:

When the Bible talks about forgiveness, it talks of a threefold consequence: (i) Debt, (ii) Defilement of land, (iii) Death. Debt is the loss (physical, emotional, and spiritual) that is incurred because of the sinful action. Defilement of land is the effect the sinful action has on the community, on the culture, and on what the future generations see and learn. Death is the separation of the spirit from the body that makes us mortal, of God from man that makes us sinful. God's forgiveness is also threefold: (i) Redemption (by paying the ransom), (ii) Atonement (by covering our sins with His blood), (iii) Eternal Life (through the power of the Holy Spirit). In this parable also, we see the threefold response of the master. (i) The compassion, (ii) The debtor is deemed to be debt-free, (iii) The act of releasing him. Later the responses are reversed. (ii) There is anger, (ii) The man is deemed to be a debtor and wicked, (iii) He is turned over to the Jailor.

So, it is not just how many times you forgive. It is also not just how grievous a sin you forgive. It is how well you forgive. Let us stay at the feet of our Lord and learn of how He has forgiven us. Then, when we see our fellowmen, may we forgive the way God forgave.

This doesn't sound easy. It probably makes us wonder if we are able to fulfill this. It makes us ask, 'Why aren't we able to do this?'. Tomorrow we can read about the secret of how we can do this and even more.

Link to the previous article: Who is my neighbor? Link to the next article: Why couldn't we do it?