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“That’s is why the Kingdom of God may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants” (Mt. 18:24).
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Biblical scholars have tried to calculate just how much debt these two servants owed. One was estimated to be 10,000-talents, while the other only 100 denarii.
If that 10,000-talent debt were paid in coins, it’d require an army of 8,600 people each carrying a 60-pound sack of coins on their back.
…8,600 sacks of coins…
A hundred denarii, on the other hand, could fit inside someone’s pocket like a handful of pennies.
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So what’s the point?
This man has been forgiven an immense debt, so large it’s almost impossible to imagine.
But then he turns around and becomes petty with his neighbor, demanding he repay him.
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Pettiness.
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So much of the anger that fills our hearts is often over petty stuff.
We don’t get our way; someone cuts us off on the Parkway; interrupts us mid-sentence; or plays passive-aggressive at the dinner table.
If Jesus forgives all the sins we’ve committed, then the least we can do is forgive our neighbor for making a mild mistake.
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In Jesus’ eyes, it’s the difference between 8,600 sacks of coins versus a few pennies.
Given the fact that we’re all living with an increased level of stress these days, we should let the small stuff go.