Articles
Needed: Mercy
Writer/philosopher G.K. Chesterson once said, “Children are innocent and love justice, while most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy.” I would have to agree, based on years of observation. A man named Mason Cooley put it in terms most seem to prefer: “Good deal: justice for you, mercy for me.” That seems to echo a humorous, but too often true, concept many have: “Justice is what you want for the other guy; mercy is what you want for yourself.” Regardless of, or maybe demonstrated by, the clever sayings of men, mercy is most often what we desire, at least when it comes to how we are treated by others.
The problem is, we don’t always desire to demonstrate mercy towards others.
And yet mercy is — or should be — very familiar to those of us who are believers in God and followers of Jesus Christ. We realize, as the psalmist recognized so long ago, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (Psa. 103:8). If we did not already acknowledge this, we should see, as He did, “the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting” (Psa. 100:5). Without a doubt, we acknowledge the reality that it was “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5). It is no exaggeration to say we would all be lost and hopeless without God’s grace and mercy!
The Demand of a Merciful God. But this same God of mercy demands His people imitate Him in this, for Jesus reminds us that God “is kind to the unthankful and evil,” and so then instructs us, “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:35, 36). We cannot honestly be said to be followers of God if, in this way, we do not do our utmost to be like Him. It should be a natural desire of the follower of God to then show mercy to others who may have been unkind to us or who have wronged us, as well as to the evil and any who might consider themselves our enemies. When it comes down to it, we should seek to exercise mercy to others for the simple fact mercy was shown to us.
The apostle Paul appeals to God’s example as the basis for our actions, commanding the early disciples, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:32). Let us note, first of all, that mercy is an act of kindness, and in a world that is increasingly unkind and unashamedly mean and cruel, God’s people should strive to forgo the worldly practice and, instead, show mercy and simple kindness. At the heart of his instruction to practice these things is an admonition to have a willingness to show mercy, for it was God’s mercy that moved Him to forgive us.
Jesus once told the story to teach us this very thing — that God demands we show mercy because of the mercy shown to us. In the illustration of the unforgiving servant (Matt. 18:21-35), Jesus told of a master who wanted to settle accounts with his servants, and called in a servant “who owed him ten thousand talents.” Let us first note that this was a exorbitant amount — in today’s money, that would be the equivalent of $24.4 trillion, if it was gold, or $277.7 million if it was silver. This was not something the man would be able to repay in his lifetime!
But the servant, when called before his master and ordered to pay, pleaded, “Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.” The reality was, he could not live long enough to repay this debt; it was beyond human ability to do so. In spite of this, the master “was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.”
But this servant “went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’” This amount was about three months’ wages, so it was within the realm of possibility that it could be repaid, but when this servant pleaded for more time, the first servant would not allow it, “but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.” When the master heard of this, he called the first servant back and asked him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” The master then “delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him”; if we consider again the magnitude of this servant’s debt, we realize it is longer than his life will be. Jesus then told the hearers, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” The point is this: Because we have been shown so great a mercy, we must be willing to show that same degree of mercy toward others.
Mercy Demonstrated. Like many of God’s commands, it is easy to understand what to do, and sometimes a lot more difficult to practice as we should. But this is not as difficult as we sometimes make it out to be. Mercy is an act of kindness, forbearance, and compassion; it is not based on the recipients’ worthiness, but often completely in spite of one’s worthiness. Mercy means we show kindness to others; it means we forgive others; it means “whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matt. 7:12); it means refraining from insults and boorish behavior towards those who disagree with us politically, regardless of what ‘our’ candidate my think or do; it means we show patience and speak kindly to the new converts, even when they may not dress like we think they should or use the ‘correct’ terminology in Bible class; it means we “judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24) and not by our own inflated opinions; it means we show patience when wronged or things don’t go the way we want; it means we step up and address sin in the life of our brother or sister because we care for their soul; it means we “restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1), instead of just ‘marking them off’ as a lost cause; it means we do whatever we must to bring lost souls to Christ and return the fallen back to the fold. We do all these things because God showed mercy to us.
The Consequence of Failing Mercy. It should be enough to know that God demands mercy of His people, but we must also know that, should we fail to do this, we should not think we will demand mercy of God in the final judgment; at no time ever has God promised a reward to the disobedient, or that the disobedient will face the same end as the obedient, faithful disciple. God’s word tells us plainly, in fact, “judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy” (Jas. 2:13). God’s word promises, “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard” (Prov. 21:13). Mercy demands we hear the cry, and then act to relieve the need when possible. Mercy demands actions, not just feelings.
Thomas Adams once said, “He that demands mercy and shows none ruins the bridge over which he himself is to pass.” Let us acknowledge mercy is not promised to the unmerciful, but to those who are willing to imitate our Lord in demonstrating mercy to the undeserving, the unkind, the wicked, and even those who enjoy making our lives miserable. As difficult as it may sometimes be, just consider how often God shows mercy to us instead of giving us what we deserve. Let us show mercy! — Steven Harper
