In the mind of the unforgiving servant : Justifiable or not?

  

Anger, they say, lies in the bosom of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:9). But what defines a person as a fool exactly? Is it the thought process, or the angry action itself?

Backing up a bit, Jesus told a story in Matthew 18 : 21-35, of a servant who owed his boss a lot of money and couldn’t pay up when it was accounted for by him. From the description NIV gave of him, he owed ‘millions of dollars’ which implies he’s also kind of rich to an extent (at least enough to amass that kind of debt) or doing some kind of business that gave him the confidence to borrow that large sum…enough to lend another. 

So, given his reputation and the ‘respect’ he commanded from ‘Junior servants’, it is imaginable the humiliation he felt when he was bundled off with his wife, his kids, and all he had to sell off at the slave market - reputation in the mud, his shoulder pad balloon was deflated and he felt exposed. 

But why the take out on the ‘lesser servant’ though? Was it sheer frustration? Misplaced anger or transfer of aggression? Or did he genuinely blame his late payment of debt on the other servant for not also paying up soon enough? ‘Had it been that idiot had paid me what he owed me, I would have been able to offset some of my own debts, let me get out of this first’, He must have thought. Let’s say we went with the latter, which seems reasonable. As soon as he got out of his boss’s loop, he went straight for the jugular of the other servant, yanked him up, shook him down and landed him in prison almost immediately. 

In the law court of today, it is plausible to argue and rationalize the action of the unforgiving servant, stating that the anger was convenient given his ‘situation’, which could, in this light, make the reactive judgement of his King seem a bit ‘high-handed’ and maybe step down his punishment to something less harsh. 

Tempting to defend, but what about his thought process? Was it reasonable? or was it a display of self-absorbed overrated wounded pride? Either way it is evident that his thought process which was done in anger, wasn’t thoroughly vetted, and this led to his poorly executed action. Little wonder the King strongly disapproved of his actions and made him face the full measure of the law, 100%. 

For the Lord, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not necessarily the action that makes one unforgiving, it is the thought process that informs the action and the heart disposition behind it that makes one unforgiving. He wants us to be able to exercise the utmost self-control beginning from our thoughts, even in the face of the worst (or presumably worst) provocation. 

Without self-control, we are left with only impulsive instincts, which make us no different from the other species of creatures - animals. Psalm 82:6 said You are gods; And all of you are children of the most High, but you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Why? Because they have no clue… 

God wants us to gain ascendancy into our most utmost self in its purest form : The God-kind of human, and that can’t be attained if we do not exercise self-control in our thoughts, feelings, and actions. To him, being human is a noble state which he has called us into, and to which he accorded a high regard when he created us. Thus, he holds us to a higher standard and accountability in both our thoughts and actions, more than he does the lesser species. 

So, back to the first question - The unforgiving servant : Justifiable or not? Sadly, no; given that he was expected to respond in the same grace as was extended to him, and is held in high standard to be in optimal control of his thoughts and his action just because…human. 

Tough and frustrating a thought! 

But thanks be to God who enables us to have a more controlled grip over our thoughts and actions by his Spirit in Christ Jesus. 

May you get all the help you need from his Spirit and whatever point you need it, in Jesus name, Amen. 

God bless you!