Mercy vs. Justice: Which Will You Choose?

Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”

            We’ve all had those moments when someone treats us harshly or unfairly in some way; when someone does something objectively bad and all we want is to lash out at them and give them what they deserve. After all, justice is a good thing, right? Well, maybe not always.

            Throughout the book of Matthew, Jesus talks about this thing called mercy, but what is mercy? Mercy is defined as kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly. Mercy is acting in opposition to what we see as justice. Mercy calls us to treat a person who is deserving of punishment with kindness, love, and compassion.

            This can be hard, I know. But let’s look at it from another point of view: Ours.

            Every day, we wake up and a thought or a prayer goes through our head - maybe something like this: “God, I’m going to live for you today and I’m not going to sin against You,” then just a few hours later we find ourselves on our knees asking for forgiveness again. The beautiful thing here is that we find forgiveness every single time; this is mercy. We deserve to be punished, abandoned, and forgotten; but that’s not what we get. Instead, we get a merciful and loving God who shows us kindness and forgiveness. This is exactly the lifestyle that Jesus has called us to live.

            So, I will leave you with this challenge: Is there someone in your life that you haven’t shown complete mercy to? Maybe a friend, a family member, an enemy; maybe even yourself. I challenge you to show mercy to this person the same way God has shown mercy to you. It’s going to be hard and may even seem impossible in situations, but it will be worth it.

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-times seven times” Matthew 18:21, 22