Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents [ten million dollars].  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.  But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants which owed him an hundred pence [seventeen dollars]; and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.  And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.  And he would not:  but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee?  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

If Christ were to reappear to-day he would find imprisonment for debt abolished throughout nearly all, if not the entire, civilized world.  The law stays the hand of the creditor, or rather withholds from him the instruments of torture which he formerly employed.  Here we have the doctrine of forgiveness applied in a very practical form.  It is based on mercy, and yet in a larger sense it rests on justice and promotes the welfare of society.

But compassion has gone further; we have the exemption law which secures to the debtor the food necessary for his family and the tools by which he makes his living.  Christ’s doctrine has been applied further still; we have the bankruptcy law which gives a new lease of life to an insolvent debtor if his failure is without criminal fault on his part.  By turning over to his creditors all the property he has above exemptions he can go forth from court free from all legal obligations and begin business unembarrassed.  Some who take advantage of these provisions of the law may be indifferent to the Teacher whose loving spirit has thus conquered the hard heart of the world, but the triumph marks a step in human advance and suggests possible changes in other directions as the principle is increasingly applied to daily life.

International law still permits greater cruelty in war than accompanied imprisonment for debt.  National obligations are enforced by killing the innocent as well as the guilty.  Ports are blockaded, cities are besieged and even bombed, and non-combatants are starved and drowned.