I have never lent money to anyone, I have always "gifted" it. You see, this is my philosophy. If you come to me for money, if I can afford it, I give it to you, no repayment required. If I can't afford it, I explain that to you and I will do what I can to help. This way, money never divides our relationship.
Jesus uses the following parable to explain forgiveness in terms of money and debt. The Pharisees had determined the law required the Jews forgive an offender three times. On the fourth offense, forgiveness was not required, you could hold on to unforgiveness and move on.
Peter asks Jesus if seven times forgiving someone was enough. Peter thought he was being generous. Jesus answers seventy times seven.
The number of times you forgive someone is not the point Jesus was trying to make. Jesus was teaching the disciples, and us, God in Heaven forgives us completely each and every time we sin against Him, shouldn't we also forgive others as He forgives us?
If God counted the number of times He has forgiven me, I'm sure we could add some zeros to seven times seventy. What about you?
Matthew 18:21-35 NLT
Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor
21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
29“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 “That’s what My heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
Blessings, Cecilia
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