Ah,my friend, I can see now why they call you The Good (and Wise) King.
Posted on 03/28/2009 6:21:20 AM PDT by WhatNot
Then the master called the servant in. "You wicked servant, " he said, "1 canceled 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? " In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
(Matthew 18:32-34)
Jesus said there was once a very rich king, and there was a man who owed the rich king the sum of one million dollars. As the law carefully stipulated, it was time for the king to put the man into a debtor's prison. The king, by law, was supposed to sell the man's wife and children and all the man's assets to help pay the debt. But the man who owed the money begged and pleaded. The king had great compassion and said, "You don't need years. You don't need days or even seconds. I forgive the debt."
Now the plot thickens. The newly forgiven man is dancing along, counting his good fortune when he meets a man who owes him only 23 cents. This newly forgiven man screams, "Pay me my 23 cents now!"
"Look, I don't have it but give me just a few days and I'm sure I can repay you." This newly forgiven man says, "No! I'm having you cast into prison until every penny is paid off." The news of this gets back to the rich king and the king is wroth. The king's blood is boiling.
He has the man summoned before him and asks, "Why is it that after I forgave you a debt of one million dollars, you couldn't forgive a debt of 23 cents?"
The king not only has the man cast into prison but also insists that the man be tormented until every penny of that debt is paid.
Was it Geithner?
zero, and all it's cabinet needs to be saved.
Why not simply banish the man (and his family)who had original owed him a great deal of money? How is going back on his forgiveness, imprisoning and torturing the man, seizing the man's assets, and selling the man's wife and children into perpetual bondage going to resolve the matter? And what sort of reputation would this "Good King" earn from himself? That he's one "bad a$$ dude"? Would real strength be to cast them into the outer darkness, as it were?
If you follow this “episode” along the entire story line, you will notice that this is part of Jesus teaching the weight of the Jewish Law (the Law of Moses). His intent is to impress the Jewish listener with the real debt owed under the Law and the real punishment awaiting those who do not execute it perfectly. Their debt to God was monumental, their debts collectible...minor. But, should they fail to catch this distinction, the consequences would be utter darkness for eternity.
This is the same message delivered in the so-called “Lord’s Prayer”. Notice, the prayer ends with an explanation of what “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” That is, “if you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven”. This is the Law of Moses, an alternate way to enter Heaven. That is, be perfect and live personal righteousness at all times.
The reason Jesus was killed, was that the Jewish audience grew tired of being told that they did not rise to this level, and never would. That left few alternatives to Hell. Even the closest disciples asked, “Who then can be saved?” The only alternative left...What is impossible with man is possible with God.
Paul notes that this message, the Gospel, was opened up to all of us following the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is available today, to those whom God has elected and will lay hold of. It is not the domain of a group, or a Catholic Church, it is not administered by men. The wind blows where it will, and no man knows from where it comes or where it goes. So, the Holy Spirit gathers those who then find themselves clinging to Christ to be clothed in His righteousness, rather than anything coming from themselves.
The King was right to punish the man for his selfishness and greed. However, in doing so...the King brought punishment on the wife and children who were innocent.
I instead (being the wise King that I am :) :) would have made the man do some kind of what we call today “community service” for a LONG, LONG TIME. I would also have made him get a job and I would have taken so much out of his pay no matter how little...to pay me back. I also would have erased the 23 cent debt the other man owed to this greedy person who was forgiven of all debt.
I would have put that money into a little savings and when I felt the man was humbled enough after working and doing his service...and I was completely convinced that he truly was sorry for his greed and ungratefulness then and only then would I release the man from his service. I would also have a guardian to look after the money in the savings which I would have ordered to go to the children.
How’s that? Everyone ends up in a good way, a hard lesson is learned for the greedy man, the man who owed the original 23 cents has realized if he incurs debt he is responsible for paying it, the children are taken care of and justice is served. As for the wife...hopefully, she too learned a lesson and left this person. :)
The government didn't “forgive” any debt whatsoever, nor did it simply dole out cash (yet). A better analogy would be if the big debtor owed a million dollars to a thousand creditors, many outside the kingdom and the debtor was owed a dollar by a million small debtors. The government helps the big debtor pay off his creditors, but now owns the debt of the million small debtors, on which it will be lucky to get 50 cents on the dollar.
Credit markets can't work if the government interferes with contracts. No one will give you a mortgage if they fear than Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will cancel it to buy your vote. Nor would you put money into a bank that leant it under those conditions.
The government has been involved in credit markets in unhealthy ways for decades and what we are seeing in the logical consequences of politicalization of credit markets, not a market failure.
Ah,my friend, I can see now why they call you The Good (and Wise) King.
Where are you getting this from?
Wife and children are never mentioned as being punished only the wicked servant.
Well said.
In the original the two sums are 10,000 talents and 100 denaria--the value of 100 denarii would be more than 23 cents, since it would be the equivalent of several months' pay for a soldier, but 100 denarii would be a small fraction of one talent.
Obama would have made the fellow servants chip in to pay the debt of the servant who owed 10,000 talents, so he wouldn't have been forced to go after the fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii.
The question stands
Where are you getting this from?
He put the man in prison did he not? Well, that means the man is no longer there to support his family. If that isn’t punishment for his family I don’t know what is. Anyway, that’s MY point of view regarding justice for all.
Anyway, that’s MY point of view regarding justice for all.
Good thing you are not in charge.
oh for heaven’s sakes...lighten up.
Is that like, “I was only joking”?
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