Forgive or do not be forgiven (The unforgiving servant Matthew 18:23-35)

Forgive or do not be forgiven (The unforgiving servant Matthew 18:23-35)
Most people do not like it when you receive an ultimatum, “either you do this, or this is going to happen.” These make things completely black and white for everyone involved and there is no other options or negotiations that is going to change the outcome. Either you do exactly what you were told to do, or you will receive exactly what you where told you was going to receive, you are painted in a corner and have no escape once the ultimatum is issued. You may have experienced this at work, “miss another day and you are fired”, at school “turn your work in by this date or you fail”, or even in a relationship, “stop this behavior or I am done with you” but in our parable today we see that God issues an ultimatum to all mankind, “forgive others or you will not be forgiven.” That is exactly what He tells everyone after the parable of the unforgiving servant vividly tells the story of a man who receives forgiveness from his master but refuses to give it to someone who owed him a debt. When the master discovered his unwillingness to forgive, he revoked his mercy towards the servant and had him arrested and tortured until he paid everything he owed. Jesus simply says in verse 35, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother and sister from the heart.”
Our world has grown to hate ultimatums, black and white, right and wrong. Anything that eliminates their options, freedom of choice, or says they are wrong has become public enemy number one in a so called “woke” society. They look at the Bible and all the absolutes that is reveals as an outdated ancient manuscript that has no place in a modern society that is so advanced socially. They pick and choose which pieces of scripture they like and throw the rest by the wayside placing the “Holy Word of God” on the same shelf as other literary master pieces from the past. God does not place statements like “forgive or don’t be forgiven” in scripture to make people mad or to limit and control His creation. He is giving us a “statement of truth and reality.” The reality is that if you harbor unforgiveness in your heart, when you stand before God on the day of judgment you will not be forgiven for you sins. Statements of reality like this and others in scriptures do not bind us, they set us free. They give us a glimpse of not what might happen but instead exactly what is going to happen. The most loving thing that anyone can do for us is to tell us the truth, God loves His creation so much that He does not sugar coat or try to dance around the truth, He simply lays it out be for us. If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven.