On September first I received my first test of discipleship -- a bill. The test is to see if I will be likewise merciful to my fellow-men. Jesus taught:
Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. (Luke 6:30)If I am to be a disciple, I would welcome the opportunity to give and not receive. One test of being a disciple of Christ is to sacrifice our sense of justice. The things of the world are play-toys, and the more we can give away without getting in return, the more we can be blessed. Blessings don't come from justice, fairness, and equity in our dealings, but rather from allowing others to take what we have -- and giving it to them, in mercy and grace. This is what the Lord has done for us many times over. Our little bit of injustice is only a metaphor to show that we are willing to follow Him.
A few weeks ago, I asked a local man to wash my windows and clean the outside of my house. He gave me an estimate for that work of $375. When he came a week later, he said that he wouldn't honor the estimate and would only do the windows for $375 because the estimate didn't show the full price because the carbon copy didn't come through. I didn't look and said OK. So he only washed the windows, which I thought was really expensive. Later, when I looked at the estimate, it clearly had wash the house and do the windows with $375 in the "Total" line in ink, no carbon, no copy, so I made a copy and wrote that he should come back and finish the job. He lied about the "carbon copy not showing through." I had felt that the price for just doing the windows was too much, and he should have washed the house as well, that was our agreement.
On September first he came back to the house without contacting me and washed the house down and left a bill for $525! I just saw that bill last night, and was filled with indignation, and adrenaline. It wasn't fair. There was no fair way to handle this. There is no win-win because he had already done the work, and I didn't agree to it. I would never have agreed to that, because I wouldn't think it was worth that much. I was arguing in my head, I couldn't sleep. I would argue that I shouldn't have to pay because it was part of the original estimate. I would just not pay anything, and throw away his "invoice," keeping the original estimate only; that's what we had agreed. I had a hard time going to sleep. My heart was pounding.
I knelt down before the Lord and prayed for guidance. The Spirit said to just pay the bill, but that wasn't the answer I wanted. It wasn't fair. I thought I could make a compromise, taking out the $375 I already paid from the $575 he billed. But I still felt cheated. That was still too much! There was no way out. Either he would lose, or I would. The answer came this morning in the scripture, "Give to every man that asketh..." The Lord is teaching me to be a true disciple. This is an opportunity to be merciful, to take upon myself the consequences of the sins of another. The man is asking for mercy and grace for his oversight and subsequent lie about the original estimate. He doesn't want to pay for his mistake so he gave me a bill.
I am reminded of the parable given by Jesus of the wicked servant found in Matthew 18:23-35. The servant owed the king 10,000 talents (a billion dollars), and when he begged for mercy, he was forgiven, but subsequently had a fellow-servant thrown in jail for a hundred pence ($10,000). When the king found out what he had done, the wicked servant was turned-over to the tormentors. I don't want this to happen to me. I want to keep the forgiveness I have received so I will be as merciful as possible -- no compromise!
I will pay for his mistake, and pay the full invoice, not as a "holier than thou" gesture, but rather for Christ, because I am a disciple of Christ I will give to anyone that asks. "...the Lord do so to me, and more also..." (Ruth 1:17) It is a tiny fraction of the thanks I feel in my heart for His grace and mercy towards me. He has forgiven infinitely more than this. This is easy. It is small. It is really nothing, in reality. God gave the money to me in the first place. I can certainly share with others, being merciful, kind, and giving. Thus, I will pass the first test of discipleship. Giving mercy instead of justice.
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