More Grace, More Favor

Humility keeps you from getting angry. It reminds you of all the mercy God has shown you, and it helps you show that mercy to others. Jesus told a story of a servant who owed his master an exorbitant amount of money. When his master called him for an accounting, the servant couldn’t pay. He begged his master for mercy, saying, “Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” The master was merciful. He forgave the man his debt and let him go (Matthew 18:23–27 KJV).

Jesus said this same man then left his master and found a fellow servant who owed him a few dollars. The man threatened the fellow servant who owed him money and demanded to be repaid. The servant fell at his feet and begged for mercy, but the man wouldn’t give it. He threw his fellow servant into prison until the debt was paid (Matthew 18:28–30). When the master heard of his servant’s behavior, he called for the man to appear before him.

Then his lord … said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt … shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors (Matthew 18:32–34 KJV).

Though this man was shown mercy, he refused to give mercy. He was proud and selfish. He enjoyed the personal results of his master’s mercy, but he didn’t allow that mercy to change his heart. That man was like a lot of Christians. But notice what Jesus said: “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Matthew 18:35 KJV).

God has forgiven us a huge debt! If we truly understood how much mercy and grace we’ve been shown, it would cause us to be gracious and merciful to others. People who are unforgiving and harsh—who demand what they aren’t willing to give—don’t really understand how much God has forgiven them.

Claiming that your attitude or the way you treat others is a personality trait or part of your gifting is a carnal copout. You can be straightforward without being harsh. You can learn to speak the truth from a motivation of love (Ephesians 4:15). Scripture says we must die to self to become a true follower of Christ (Luke 9:23–24). What happens when you insult a corpse? Nothing. You can ignore that corpse, cuss it out, spit on it, kick it, and that corpse will just lie there. It won’t respond. Why? Because it’s dead. If you’re struggling to respond to people with mercy and grace, it’s because you’ve not died to self. Your self is still very much alive. If you were to humble yourself, look at the big picture, and put God and His Kingdom ahead of your personal agenda, it wouldn’t matter so much what happened to you.

We can’t give away what we don’t have. Most of us don’t understand how much God loves us, how much He’s forgiven us. Love is the antithesis of pride. Jesus said the greatest demonstration of love is a person laying down their life for another (John 15:13). That’s what He did for us. And that’s what—as children of God—He’s asked us to do for others. We are to reflect God’s character by laying down our lives, our good, our advancement for the sake of another.

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Excerpt taken from More Grace More Favor by Andrew Wommack, ©2020 by Harrison House Publishers. Used by permission.