Matthew 18:33
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?
Most of us have probably been in some situation, either financially or otherwise, where we were in a pickle and didn't know how we were going to get out of that sticky situation. Maybe we owed someone some money or needed to payback a debt, and that debt was so extreme that it just seemed overwhemling. Then somehow, your debt was forgiven....maybe you had a windfall, an unexpected event happened so that you could repay the debtor or just maybe they forgave the debt. When that happens, it's a tremendous relief and a great burden off of your shoulders. Let's not turn the table. Has anyone owed you something and you let them off the hook? Or did you hold them to a strict accounting of every penny owed or every act repaid? It's easy to shake down someone when they are down on their luck, or they owe you a big payback on something you did for them. But God doesn't want that. He wants us to be good stewards of the gifts he's given and doesn't want us falling into debt or get into that precarious situation. But when we do and you are lording over the situation, sometimes you need to show pity and cut the person some slack. Today's reading from Matthew shows us that the person who was forgiven a debt owed to his master, then turned around and shook down all those who owed him. He didn't learn from the master to show that pity. Unfortunately for him, the master took him to task in a very harsh way. If someone owes you something and you're quite sure they can't pay you back, show some compassion as Jesus has show compassion for you. Jesus paid the ultimate price for all of us. He asks for nothing in return other than our love for him and for one another. That should be an easy debt to pay.
