Other People Were Affected, Too—The Lord’s “Other Servants”

Other People Were Affected: 

The Lord’s “Other Servants”

But the damage didn’t stop with the Unforgiving Servant and the Unforgiven Servant. The Lord’s “other servants” were also affected.

23 Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he had begun to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
Matthew 18:23-24 (WEB)

Matthew 18:23-24 (WEB)

Recall how the matter started. The Lord was settling accounts with his “servants,” plural, when one servant with a huge debt was brought before him. That servant begged the Lord for mercy, and the Lord gave him mercy to a very unexpected degree. He forgave the entire debt. It was gone.

27 The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt. 
Matthew 18:27

Matthew 18:27 (WEB)

Unfortunately, that servant, now free from all of his debt, did not remember the mercy his Lord had shown him.

Instead, he remembered a fellow servant who owed him about three months’ wages and decided it was time to collect that debt. And he demanded payment of his fellow servant quite forcefully and violently;

“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’  Matthew 18:28

.Matthew 18:28 (WEB)

In just the same way the Unforgiving Servant had begged his Lord for mercy, for patience, for more time to pay his unbelievably huge debt, the Unforgiven Servant begged the Unforgiving one for mercy, for patience, for more time to pay his quite manageable debt. But the Unforgiving Servant refused to show mercy:

“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’  He would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay back that which was due.
Matthew 18:29-30 (WEB)

Matthew 18:29-30 (WEB)

But the Unforgiving Servant was never alone in either of these transactions. Other servants were present when the Lord forgave his debt and saw what had been done. Other servants were present when he grabbed the Unforgiven Servant by the throat and demanded payment and saw what was done. Other servants were present when he had the Unforgiven Servant cast into debtor’s prison and saw what was done. And other servants also saw that the second servant was still in orison, and it grieved them:

So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done.
Matthew 18:31 (WEB)

Matthew 18:31 (WEB).

The other servants in the parable did exactly what they should have done with such a grievance: they told the Lord about it, and let him do justice.

But, in the end, they remained aggrieved, because the Unforgiven Servant remained in debtor’s prison. Only the Unforgiving Servant could release him.

But in the world in which I live, which is not the world of Jesus’ parable, many of the Lord’s other servants would not be content to take their grievance to the Lord and leave it with him to judge. They would want to do some other things with their knowledge of the situation, things which the Scriptures warn about because they often turn disputes between two parties into big problems for many other people who are not directly involved in the dispute.

I will list some of the more important ones here, with the understanding that they will be covered more thoroughly in later installments.

To start with, many of the Lord’s other servants will want to judge the dispute for themselves, particularly so that they can form a firm opinion as to which party is the wrongdoer and should now forever be avoided and penalized:

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.. 1 Corinthians 4:5

1 Corinthians 4:5 (WEB)

In forming these quick judgments, strangers to the dispute will not be able to heed Solomon’s warning:

He who pleads his cause first seems right;
    until another comes and questions him.
Proverbs 18:17 (WEB)

Proverbs 18:17 (WEB)

When I take over God’s job and judge a fellow believer unworthy, I despise them, according to Paul:

But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written,
“‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow.
    Every tongue will confess to God.’”
So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.

Romans 14:10-12 (WEB)

After deciding which party is the evildoer, it is only natural to take sides with the other party. It seems the just thing to do–except that the foundation on which the quick judgment was based is weak.

And if there is some question who the wrongdoer is, or there is fault on both sides of the original dispute, or there are divided loyalties in the community or church in which the dispute occurred, the result will be factions supporting each side.

People can get hurt for meddling. Hence, the following warnings:

For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or a meddler in other men’s matters.  But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this matter.

1 Peter 4:15-16 (WEB)

1 Peter 4:14-16 (WEB)

20 For lack of wood a fire goes out.
    Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
Proverbs 26:17

.Proverbs 26:17 (WEB)

You don’t want to yank on a sleeping dog’s ears!

The most perverse thing about this process of groups forming quick judgments and rallying behind one of the original parties to the dispute is that, once the partisan group forms, the original parties become mostly irrelevant. The partisan groups will often put subtle pressure on the original parties to avoid settling the dispute. But even if the original parties manage to settle their dispute the dispute will not end, because the other people who picked up the dispute as their own will not be satisfied. Even more important, because the late comers to the dispute were not actually wronged, they also cannot forgive the original wrong. They don’t own it. Feuds often continue even after the original offender and offended have both died.

Problems for others not directly involved: 3. Gosspi

It can be a lot of fun to talk about other peoples’ problems. They are so messed up, I look good by comparison!

It can be a lot of fun to talk about others’ pain. My situation really isn’t that bad!

And it’s also perversely fun to listen to gossip. But listening to gossip comes at a price:

The words of a gossip are like dainty morsels:
    they go down into a person’s innermost parts.
Proverbs 18:8 (WEB)

Proverbs 18:8 (WEB)

But before I can gossip about you, I have to judge you–I have to believe that you are somehow inferior to me, that the things I’m going to talk about somehow make you bad by comparison to me. Because I certainly wouldn’t want you to gossip about me!

So gossip leads to grumbling:

Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.
James 5:9 (WEB)

.James 5:9 (WEB)

Reinforcing the point, when I speak against you–even in mere “harmless” gossip–I judge you. I assume God’s place as the only Judge under his Law:

Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge.  Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?
James 4:11-12 (WEB)

.James 4:11-12 (WEB)

The end of this process of anger nurtured by private judgment and grumbling, is settled bitterness, which can affect groups of people who were not involved in the original dispute:

Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord, looking carefully lest there be any man who falls short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and many be defiled by it,
Hebrews 12:14-15 (WEB)

Hebrews 12:14-15 (WEB).

Next: The Apostle Paul approved of arbitration of disputes between Christians by other believers

Link: Write to me.

Write to me:  ianjbox-notdead@yahoo.com
Link to series about prayer for people who don’t want my prayers:
https://bit.ly/pray4allus
Link to index of both series:  https://bit.ly/reconcile4idx

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