the Annoying and the Irritable
Dear Boys and Girls,
Mark had a very bad habit of crunching his teeth. Oh how it annoyed his sister Julie. Each time he did it she would shout at him, "Stop it! Stop it!" Mark, at first, had not realised he was doing it. But when he saw it annoyed his sister he crunched his teeth all the more.
Now, one day when Mark and Julie's mother was quietly going about the house tidying up she heard a commotion and calling the two of them over, asked what all the noise was about. When they told her the whole story mummy sat down, and this is what she said, "Well children, you're both wrong! Mark you have a habit that you know irritates your sister, so you should do your very best to break the habit and thank Julie when she tells you that you are doing it. And, Julie, you are very wrong in screaming and being impatient with Mark. What you have to do is to be patient, and try and help your brother overcome his bad habit."
As soon as mother had finished speaking, both children chimed in together, "It's easier said than done, mum," Mother then told them both to sit down, and she began to show what she meant by telling them a story that Jesus had told: -
A certain king decided to reckon up with his servants what each one owed him. One was brought to him who owed him ten thousand pounds. He didn't have the money to pay his debt, and his master commanded him to be sold. The servant fell down and pleaded, "Have patience with me and I will pay you all I owe." The king then had pity on him, and set him free, and forgave him the debt. But that same servant went out and found another servant who owed him a hundred pence, and taking him by the throat, he shook him, saying, "Pay me what you owe me." The poor man fell down at his feet and cried, "Have patience with me and I will repay you all that I owe." But he refused, and had him cast into prison.
The other servants were sorry for the poor man, and went and told the king. The king then called the first servant to him and said, "You wicked servant, I forgave you all your debt, because you asked me, and yet, you would not have pity on your fellow-servant." The servant was then cast into prison until he could pay what he owed. He lost the forgiveness that he could have had, and our Lord Jesus finished the story by saying that if we could not learn to forgive others their sins, then God would not forgive us our sins.
"Now, that's not an easy lesson to learn, children," said Julie and Mark's mother, but it's what our Lord Jesus Christ said. And remember, of course, all that Jesus did when He died on the cross so that we might have our sins forgiven by believing in Him and trying to follow His example. As the hymn says: -
'O dearly, dearly has He loved,
And we must love Him, too;
And trust in His redeeming blood,
And try His works to do.'"