of it. So he only partially forgave the debt. But the point is, he did forgive some of it. And, it is also true, as the parable relates, that the child of this world did what he did out of fear and self-love, not because it was the right thing to do. For it says that he did not want to lose his job (Luke 16:3). And he also wanted to keep his friends (Luke 16:4). So he forgave some, but not all, and he forgave for selfish reasons. Nevertheless, this forgiveness was effective in his life. He certainly pleased his lord. And it is likely that he kept friends, and maybe even his high position. We see this in our own jobs and relationships every day. If we let things go, if we forgive, if we forget, if we overlook faults, we are better off.
Christians should not be like this steward, who forgave only partially and for the wrong reasons. Christians should forgive because it is urged by the Holy Spirit in a pure conscience, not because of fear or self-love. And Christians should fully and completely forgive. Indeed, if they do not forgive, they will not be forgiven, as we say in the Lord’s Prayer. And Christians should forgive even if it does not benefit them in any way—indeed, even if for some reason it might harm them in a temporal sense.
But a lesson of the parable remains—you are better off if you forgive, whether you are a child of the world or a child of God. Indeed, if we all held grudges nobody would ever talk to anyone. For we all offend.
So then, why don’t we forgive? Again, the big offenses, the things that really hurt, that affect our pride, our reputation, why don’t we forgive these?
The parable of this steward follows directly after the parable of the prodigal son and his older brother. The older brother could not forgive. So what happened to him in the end? The text gives a grave picture of the state of this older son’s heart.
Dearly beloved friends, let us all confess that we are unforgiving, implacable, corner-reapers. Friends,
Owe no man anything, but to love one another, for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, “Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet;” and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Love worketh no will to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law (Rom 13:8–10).
He thinks
Two of the worst words in the world are “he thinks.” Now, at times in the Bible, we get told what people are thinking, but this is rare. However, when we do get told in the Bible what someone was thinking, we can take it as true. But unless we get told from a perfect source what someone else is thinking, then how do we know what another person is thinking?
God “declares unto man what man’s thought is” (Amos 4:13). From this text we could even ask—why does a man have to be told by God what that man’s thoughts are? Doesn’t a man know what his own thoughts are? After all, they are in his own head, his own heart. He is the one thinking them. And yet he needs God to declare his own thoughts to him. So we don’t even know what we ourselves think! So how do we, as corrupt humans, know what another person thinks? Or, to use the Hebrew idiom, what another person is speaking in his heart?
Even when the Scripture says, for example, of the heathen, that when they pray, they think they will be heard because of their constant speaking (Matt 6:7)—why do we not be charitable when we look at a heathen and say: I don’t know why that heathen is constantly praying and using vain repetitions? Why don’t we say: maybe he is searching? Or: maybe he doesn’t know any better? For in general, this statement from Scripture is true, that people do use vain repetitions in praying and are not sincere, and they think that they will be heard because of their long speeches. But why are we so sure, in an individual case, with our neighbor, that it applies to our neighbor’s thoughts? Couldn’t he say the same thing about us? And if he did, how would we feel?
He thinks he is better than me. He thinks he can get away with it. He thinks I am stupid. He thinks he is going to be able to make me jealous. It never ends. Why don’t we remember the story about the older brother of the prodigal son? The text says that the younger brother, the prodigal son, went out and wasted his substance in riotous living. But what did the older brother say? He said that the younger brother had spent it all on harlots. So which was it? Riotous living, or harlots? If it was harlots, then how did the older brother know this? And why did he repeat it? And why did he say harlots instead of riotous living? How did he know what the younger brother had been doing in the world? Doesn’t it say more about the temptations and lusts of the older brother than it does about the prodigal son? It seems to me the older brother’s statement about harlots reveals exactly what he wants to do, but doesn’t dare to do out of fear of losing status. Or maybe he does do such things but hides them. Something had gone wrong on the left side in the older brother’s heart, and something also was going wrong on the right side: he could not have a mind of compassion and graciousness towards another human, his own brother.
Let us stop assuming the worst—let’s assume the best. Let’s forgive. “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, sayeth the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil” (Jer 29:11). All this goodness comes to us from God, even though we have been admonished, and disobeyed these words: “Let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart” (Zech 7:10). And God knows how we are. He testifies of us: “Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son” (Ps 50:20). And yet God “hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me” (Ps 55:18).
Shimei
Shimei. Remember Shimei. These words should be constantly on the lips of a Christian. For the words “remember Shimei” summarize the books of 1 and 2 Peter. They say, as Luther was fond of saying to those who had to suffer and be horribly treated: suffer it like a Christian.
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