Why does Jesus tell a story with absurd numbers? It would take 165,000 years for the servant to pay back his 10,000 talent debt. He'd need to collect more coins than there were in circulation. But after receiving the biggest debt relief of the millennia, this former prisoner stalks out of the throne room in a rage to shake down a guy who owed him a couple of months of work. His debtor pleads for forgiveness using the exact words the wicked servant had just used! But this calculating, entitled man ignores it and drags the poor man to prison. One debtor steals mercy so he can be merciless, while a compassionate king forgives everything so he can serve his people. Sometimes this parable is weaponized to force the abused to forgive. But notice what happens to the abused man in this story: the king's advisors take the initiative to advocate for him, the king hears their petition, and this heartless oppressor goes back to jail! Forgiveness isn't the same as excusing evil or injustice. This story shows our Heavenly Father prioritizes compassion, but never at the cost of justice. If we humbly beg him for forgiveness, he will release us from all our debts. If we leave his presence overwhelmed with gratitude and wanting to forgive others, then we've received the message, even if it is a difficult struggle. The only person who should read this parable and fear God's judgment is the one who doesn't care about forgiveness at all. You don't have to perfectly forgive so God will keep forgiving you. It's the opposite: we're freed to forgive because God has completely forgiven us.