The Unforgiving Servant

The Unforgiving Servant
Jesus tells an interesting story concerning the kingdom of God. He describes it as a king who decided to collect on the debts owed him by his servants:
One servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn't pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.
The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and begged, “Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.” Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.
The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, “Pay up. Now!”
The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, “Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.” But he wouldn't do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.
The king summoned the man and said, “You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn't you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?” The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that's exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn't forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy. (Matthew 18:23-35 The Message).
In this story, the servant was asked by his fellow servant to forgive a debt representing .01% of the total debt he himself had just been forgiven of. He refused to forgive his fellow servant, and suffered the consequences. God has graciously forgiven us of so much; shouldn’t we therefore forgive each other?