As a hypothetical, the story goes:
An over-extended and near-broke entrepreneurial dude owed the IRS $650,000, who were threatening to send him to jail unless he made complete and immediate payment. He pleads his case, citing financial hardship and family ties that would devastate his life and his chances to pay should he be incarcerated. On a particular day, he found the ear of a compassionate agent who, with his authority, granted the man a complete release of his obligation. Grateful and stunned, the man leaves the offices and returns to his office, where he begins his fresh start by getting after his accounts receivables and the collection of personal loans he had made along the way. His first call was with a friend who had borrowed $65,000 years earlier. Desperate, the entrepreneur threatens legal action, including putting a lien on the friend's lone asset, his family home. Mortified, the friend cites financial hardship and a family situation that would devastate his life should he lose the cash value of the property he was trying to sell. His begging found no sliver of compassion or negotiation, and a judge ultimately granted the full lien, crushing the friend who was forced to liquidate and file for bankruptcy protection. Our hypothetical story concludes with a bizarre twist of fate, where the original IRS agent caught wind of the entrepreneur's uncompassionate and unwavering actions and, with his authority, reversed his initial decision and quickly expedited an order to arrest and institutional confinement of the entrepreneur for a period 20 years.
Money can turn people into monsters. We have seen it time and time again in our lifespans. The best we can tell is that man has lived with a debt element from the beginning. Individuals and societies leverage debt to survive. Managing these dues over time has morphed from death sentences to incarceration to claims court to bankruptcy protection.
Our hypothetical story above was our best attempt to put a timely spin on a parable Jesus shared with his disciples in Matthew chapter 18. Then and there, it was gold and silver and kings and servants. It is the principles of the story that matter, not the particulars.
How we are forgiven and our ability to extend that same level of forgiveness to others is the point that Jesus was trying to make and the basis he hopes we live on.
When teaching the disciples how to pray, Jesus included this concept when he said, “…and forgive our debts AS we forgive our debtors”. Or, for our Catholic friends, “…and forgive our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us”.
We see in our hypo that the IRS agent was quick to forgive the responsibility and that the entrepreneur did not respond to his debtor similarly. He did not AS.
In nonspiritual circles, the phrases “forgive as you would like to be forgiven” and “treat as you would like to be treated” are tossed around frequently. Same idea, different root.
We see clearly today that that comes in many forms. From monetary to emotional, we have come to see that empathy, understanding, and forgiveness should be granted by us to others, as we have been blessed with the same for many of our short dealings.
Admittedly, this is a discipline that takes effort on our part. Our instinct, or intuition, is to get what is due to us without waiver, all while expecting some give when it comes to our encroaches.
If we are forgiven in God's eyes and forgiven by other beings, we should not find it difficult to forgive ourselves and others. We need to stay connected to the theory of AS.
We have lived pieces of the hypothetical story that began this post. We have been unconditionally forgiven, and we have been relentless and demanding. Today we do our best to live the example that Jesus set. Today we hang on the words of hope that provide peace to our souls. Today we live “as”, the best we can.
The Bible is full of practicality. We have found that aligning with its teachings brings balance and beauty as we muddle through our human existence.
Forgiveness it's one of the most challenging precepts that we face. Getting our heads around the level of God-forgiveness is taking most of our thought and energy these days, but we attack its comprehension like a hungry lion attacks its prey.
The morals of this post?: 1) pay your taxes on time and 2) pay attention to the word “AS”
May you find peace in forgiveness!
Thoughts and ideas for this blog post were taken and built upon from asweunderstandhim.coffee podcast “Unlearn – part 2” The podcast dropped on 7/16/2023. Click here to hear the podcast.
Photo by Mehdi Sepehri on Unsplash
Comments