An Eye Opener
“As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt
The servant fell on his knees before him, ‘Be patient with me’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go”
But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denari. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.”
“Then the master called the servant in. “you wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’”
Matthew 18:24-28, 32-33
The Scriptures may have been written a very long time ago but some situations seem to be pulled right out of those verses.
Just the other day I witnessed the reaction of a person who had received an enormous blessing, on top of a series of smaller but very significant ones. In this situation one might expect a sincere display of gratitude. The blessing to her came at a great price to the giver, a fact of which, she was very much aware. Instead of any real, heartfelt gratitude there was a mumbled thank you, in the midst of an entirely different conversation. Keep in mind, the giver was not looking for thanks. That was never his motivation. To an outside observer, however, some form of actual gratitude was called for but it never came.
In conversation with the benefactor I learned that he had originally planned to bless this same woman in a way that would have had an even greater impact on her day to day life. It wasn’t her lack of appreciation that stopped him. He’s used to that, I suppose. It was the fact that he observed her putting herself first, refusing to help another, in a much, much smaller, barely discernible way, just minutes after learning of the blessing in her life.
I don’t know if the woman involved learned anything from the experience but I know I did. Just watching it play out and listening to the sad disappointment of the giver I had a glimpse of how God deals with us.
We read it over and over again in Scripture. I gave a very short version of the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. That is as close an illustration as I could find to what I witnessed. It’s the give me, do for me, see my distress oh, but don’t expect me to show mercy, kindness or even consideration, school of thought. It is a total disregard of the blessing given.
I see myself as a fairly grateful person. I have many little ways in which I try to express my gratitude to my Father for mercy and love far, far, far beyond anything I could ever deserve. Still, watching that little scenario play out around me I wondered how many blessings I’ve missed because after receiving something I certainly didn’t deserve it wasn’t enough to just take the blessing for granted, I had to go farther to refusing to give anything at all the next time I was asked. I was appalled by the reaction of the woman receiving the gift but I did wonder how many times I have behaved that way toward my Father.
The parables in the Scriptures are there to inform and guide us but when we see one acted out in our very own lives it might just be time for some introspection. I’ve heard many people say that God doesn’t speak to us, like He spoke in the Bible. Maybe He does but we just aren’t listening.
The servant fell on his knees before him, ‘Be patient with me’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go”
But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denari. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.”
“Then the master called the servant in. “you wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’”
Matthew 18:24-28, 32-33
The Scriptures may have been written a very long time ago but some situations seem to be pulled right out of those verses.
Just the other day I witnessed the reaction of a person who had received an enormous blessing, on top of a series of smaller but very significant ones. In this situation one might expect a sincere display of gratitude. The blessing to her came at a great price to the giver, a fact of which, she was very much aware. Instead of any real, heartfelt gratitude there was a mumbled thank you, in the midst of an entirely different conversation. Keep in mind, the giver was not looking for thanks. That was never his motivation. To an outside observer, however, some form of actual gratitude was called for but it never came.
In conversation with the benefactor I learned that he had originally planned to bless this same woman in a way that would have had an even greater impact on her day to day life. It wasn’t her lack of appreciation that stopped him. He’s used to that, I suppose. It was the fact that he observed her putting herself first, refusing to help another, in a much, much smaller, barely discernible way, just minutes after learning of the blessing in her life.
I don’t know if the woman involved learned anything from the experience but I know I did. Just watching it play out and listening to the sad disappointment of the giver I had a glimpse of how God deals with us.
We read it over and over again in Scripture. I gave a very short version of the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. That is as close an illustration as I could find to what I witnessed. It’s the give me, do for me, see my distress oh, but don’t expect me to show mercy, kindness or even consideration, school of thought. It is a total disregard of the blessing given.
I see myself as a fairly grateful person. I have many little ways in which I try to express my gratitude to my Father for mercy and love far, far, far beyond anything I could ever deserve. Still, watching that little scenario play out around me I wondered how many blessings I’ve missed because after receiving something I certainly didn’t deserve it wasn’t enough to just take the blessing for granted, I had to go farther to refusing to give anything at all the next time I was asked. I was appalled by the reaction of the woman receiving the gift but I did wonder how many times I have behaved that way toward my Father.
The parables in the Scriptures are there to inform and guide us but when we see one acted out in our very own lives it might just be time for some introspection. I’ve heard many people say that God doesn’t speak to us, like He spoke in the Bible. Maybe He does but we just aren’t listening.
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