20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 21"You have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' 22But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, `You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire. 23So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; 26truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.
In this passage, Jesus is warning about the dangers of spiritual debt, not money. Unless we deal with the unresolved wrongs we carry, we are prisoners in cells of our own making. Jesus is telling us to pay attention to the relationships we have with others. He warns against anger, insults, and unforgiven actions. There i little point in offering yourself to God if you are not resolving issues with your neighbour. Loving Father, it is clear to me that you want each of us to be in a relationship with our neighbour. It is clear to me that forgiveness is high on your values hierarchy. It is clear to me that reaching out to you whilst ignoring issues with my neighbour, is misplaced energy. Give me the focus to identify issues I have with my neighbour and resolve them. Amen.
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