Occupy Wall Street and the Unforgiving Servant

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Watching what is going on with Occupy Wall Street has reminded me of a parable Jesus told of the unforgiving servant. Below I have retold Matthew 18: 21-35 using modern characters/situations that people in the USA would be familiar with.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“The Kingdom of Heaven would be like if Uncle Sam required annual and quarterly reports of the corporations and citizens who did business within his country. When the taxes were due, some large corporations who should have paid millions of dollar visited the Minister of Finance. The corporations were broke and begged not to be sent to bankruptcy court where the company would be dissolved, all the employees would lose their jobs, and any assets would be liquidated to repay the corporation's creditors.

“The CEOs wrote personal checks to Uncle Sam's favorite re-election campaign and begged the Minister of Finance, 'Be patient with us, and we will pay back everything!' After some discussion Uncle Sam took pity on the thousands of employees and constituents who would suffer from the dissolution of the companies, and underwrote the companies' debt, leaving the companies free to continue to do business.

“But when the CEOs left the Minister of Finance and went back to their corporations, they began a series of lay-offs and had their accountants notify them of anyone who owed the company money. They ordered their attorneys and debt collectors to foreclose on properties and reclaim assets that were owed to the company even if it meant forcing someone to live in a homeless shelter.

“The debtors begged the lenders, “Be patient with me, the economy is bad. In time I will get a new job and I will pay it back.”

“But the corporations refused. Instead, the attorneys and debt collectors brought the debtors before the courts, seized what assets they could and forced the debtors into bankruptcy, ruining their ability to borrow for many, many years.

“When other citizens saw what was happening they became outraged. When told their representatives how upset they were, the representatives didn't solve the problem. So the citizens gathered together to protest. They protested everywhere the corporations had power. More and more citizens sympathized with the protesters such that when elections came none of the old representatives got re-elected. All the contributions of the corporations had no effect.

“Then Uncle Sam called in the CEOs of the corporations. 'You wicked business men,' he said, 'I underwrote your millions of debt because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow debtors just as I had on you?' In anger Uncle Sam handed the CEOs and the corporations over to the courts to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

There may be some theological angst with equating Uncle Sam with the heavenly Father, however, I'm trying to follow the pattern that Jesus set forth in equating God with a King and since the general scenario is very similar, the moral of the story is the same. I have framed Jesus' parable in modern language with modern characters because I want the reader to see how grace and mercy fits into their everyday real experience, albeit a rather grand societal reality. I believe the modified parable also clarifies the present day future outcome of those who aren't practice mercy. 

The Occupy Wall Street movement could become a movement consumed with anger and revenge, or it could seek justice and mercy. To the extent that the movement remains peaceful and seeks justice and mercy, I believe that a lot of good will come from it. This is a difficult time for many people. Economies go through natural cycles of boom and bust. But through it all we need to have mercy whether we are a big corporation or a sole individual on unemployment. The mercy we show towards others is the mercy we will receive. Those who seek justice without any mercy, will experience justice without mercy. Seeking justice without mercy implies that the seeker is perfect, but there is no one who doesn't need mercy. Justice without mercy is harsh and will ultimately kill us.

There is a lot of fear going around right now. Some of it is legitimate, other fears are irrational. Part of the fear is based on who is going to lose out in this debt game of musical chairs. Mankind's justice takes an eye for an eye. It makes the offender pay through deprivation. And so, since we are all guilty we pass the buck just like Adam and Eve while the music continues to play. But eventually it's not possible to pass the buck any more, the music stops, and we have to own up. We have delude ourselves into thinking that as long as we have a place to sit, we can go on playing the game. But the truth is we need to start playing a different game; a game that adds chairs rather than takes them away. We need to start practicing the justice of God; a justice that gives sight to the blind and causes the lame to walk.

When we seek to love others the way God loves us, then we won't be living in fear any more. When we start giving others mercy, we will start experiencing the grace of God. As God's justice becomes the new norm, a new day will have dawned; the old will have passed away. The fear of death, and debt, and destitution will be gone forever. And the American Dream can be a reality for everyone.