March 27, 2008
There once lived a loving and merciful master. He cared for his servants, was full of empathy and forgiveness. Yet, he was renowned as a righteous and just and judges all things with an upright and honorable spirit, not showing favoritism. The master would spend time with his servants whenever he could, bringing them joy and delight because of his companion, and also teaching them his moral and admirable ways. Once every year, he would review the stewardship of his servants.
So it came to pass that the master wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, one, was brought to him who owed him one thousand gold coins(1). But as he was unable to pay, the master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant fell on his knees and said, ‘Master! Have patience with me, and I will pay you all!’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and canceled his debt.
But when the servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred stone pieces(2), he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell on his knees and begged with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had happened.
Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I canceled all your debt because you begged me. Should you not also have compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you? Because you have done evil, I shall hand you over to the officers in jail.’ Amazed, the servant pleaded, ‘Master! You are full of compassion and mercy. You forgave me once, you shall forgive me once more!’ To that the master answered, ‘Have not you heard that I am a righteous judge? I’ll have mercy on those who have mercy, but I’ll not forgive those who do not forgive.’ And his master handed him over to the jail officers until he should pay all that was due to him.
In this vignette, the unforgiving servant committed three crucial errors. First, he did not develop a complete and accurate schema of his master; he over-emphasized on his master’s love and mercy and neglected his righteousness and justice. Schemas are mental representations of anything (people, objects, places etc.) that contains the defining features of that particular person or object, as well as understanding about how the person or object acts or works. The possession of schemas in our minds allows us to respond and react adequately to that particular person or object. Once a schema is formed, the process of associating the person or object to its central characteristics comes naturally and easily. It permits us to bring an otherwise chaotic and confusing world under control.
Obviously, the servant only saw the master as a tender-loving man, filled with kindness and forgiveness. He probably enjoyed the wonderful times spent with his master, but remained uninterested whenever his master imparted wisdom and knowledge; hence, he never learned the upright ways of his master. This selective attention, on the master’s forgiveness, and selective interpretation, that the master’s degree of forgiveness surpasses any form of transgression, probably led him to behave so cruelly to his fellow servant; he believed that his master would always forgive all his misdeeds unconditionally, regardless of his response upon receiving mercy (which was not the case at all if he had been attentive when the master was teaching him the honourable way of life). The selective attention and interpretation of the servant probably accounted for his amazement when the master sentenced him to jail the second time round; the righteousness of the master was something he had never contemplated and it totally shocked him when the final judgement was declared.
Schemas are formed so that people can respond adequately and appropriately to that particular person or object. Hence, as the servant developed an inaccurate schema of his master, his responses to the master’s mercy on him were in error. Instead of practicing what he sees the master do (cancelling his debt and forgetting about the issue altogether), he abuses the mercy of his master by condemning a fellow servant to jail. If the unforgiving servant had acknowledged the master’s compassion, while remembering and honouring his righteousness and justice, he would have acted differently and averted the severe judgment that fell on him.
The unforgiving servant’s second error was to use heuristics – representative and availability – when the master called for him during the settlement of accounts. Representative heuristics refers to the inclination to judge the probability that a target belongs to a category based on how identical the target is to the characteristic qualities of the category, and availability heuristics refers to the inclination to establish a judgement on how easily salient examples can be remembered.
When he was first called, he used the representative heuristic (the master is kind-hearted), that led him to cry out for mercy, and he received it. On the second occasion, he used the availability heuristic (the master will forgive him again for his misdeeds), but this time failing to receive mercy. This shows that heuristics, a kind of cognitive shortcut, does not always work well. It would have been better for the servant to contemplate on his actions and words carefully, than to be a cognitive miser in a situation where careful and deliberate thoughts were necessary (the threat of ending up in jail certainly isn’t a minor issue). Therefore, although heuristics help to organise our world and permit efficient responding, it is definitely insufficient when dealing with complex information or situations (having to maintain the image of the master as being merciful and just at the same time).
Hence, rather than to make assumptions about the truths, which keeps us ignorant and deceived, we ought to accustom ourselves with real truths, that we may be ready to give an account of ourselves and not be amazed by the final decision. And let us exercise mercy as mercy has been exercised on us, for mercy triumphs over judgement.
1 one thousand gold coins is the equivalent of twenty-two years wages of a servant
2 one hundred stone pieces is the equivalent of a month's wages of a servant
Eric Matthew wrote @ 5:34 PM