Parable Of The Unforgiving Servant Essay

In the book of Matthew there is the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. Peter asks Jesus how many times he must forgive his brother, and Jesus responds with “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy- seven times.” He then tells the parable of the servant who owed a large debt. As he could not pay this debt, he began to beg the master not to sale him and his family. The master showed him mercy and forgave him of this debt. This same servant then had another man jailed for a debt. The servant failed to show the same forgiveness and mercy that he was previously shown, and for that the master had him jailed out of anger. This parable teaches the lesson of forgiveness and relates to justice. Justice, whether personal or not, is sought after for revenge. When you are wronged you feel as though you must take action against that person. It is easy to forget that they had reasons, motivations and extenuating circumstances. No one ever wants to put themselves in the other person’s position and think about what they would have done. No one ever wants to stop for a second and consider the possibility of forgiveness being the solution. For this reason, among many others, it is highly debated on how
In fact, it was considered limiting. However, Jesus then teaches the idea of offering your right cheek if someone slaps your left. This is more applicable in our society today. There will also be those that want to inflict pain on others. That is why we have the justice system, no matter how corrupt at times. However, the internal pain does not end when the other person has been put away or hit back or sentenced to death. It will only end when you decide that it is time to let go and forgive that person for everything they have done. You do not have to understand their motivation, you only have to be willing to put aside the fact that they caused you harm or you will be stuck like the unforgiving