Mercy Ain't Easy

What does it mean to have mercy?

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. - James 2:1-13

James tells us that unless you show mercy, you will not receive it from God, so we should have some idea what mercy is.

Mercy is defined as compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone who one is in a position to punish or judge.

So, we can assume we must hold some authority over someone.  James begins by telling us we can be judgmental of someone based solely on looks, but the example he gives is that we are in a position to decide where the person sits, so we are in control.

Control is the key ingredient here.  The message is for those of us who find ourselves in a place where we can control others to some extent.

So mercy is a gift we offer to those we control or influence, like someone we employ.

No wonder he talks about the rich.  They usually have power over others merely because of their wealth.

If we aren't rich, then, and we are not in a position of power, how can we show mercy, or what can we show mercy for?

For most of us, it boils down to forgiveness, for when we are wronged, there is a weight we hold over the head of our offender.

He or she carries the guilt and only through our mercy can it be lifted.

We can show mercy through forgiveness, but that may be a lot harder than choosing to give someone who works fr us another chance.  It means we need to be willing to let go of the pain and anger that the wrong caused.

Mercy, therefore, isn't easy.

More to come...