Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ~~ Matthew 5:7
Are you inclined to give mercy? I found myself recently not so inclined to be merciful with those who live with me. I demanded acts of mercy from them, yet I acted harshly to them. I wanted them to follow this three step plan to me:
- Acknowledge their offense toward me
- Repent of their offense
- Make restitution for their offense
But no one in my household followed this plan for me and I certainly did not feel I needed to yield to it myself. I wanted some respect from the others. In all honesty, what I wanted was control. But I’m not in control; God is in control.
The unmerciful servant found in Matthew 18 begged for mercy from his king. After he received mercy, he went to a fellow servant that owed him so much less and forced the three-step plan on him. When the fellow servant did not make restitution, the unmerciful servant had him thrown in jail. Because people talk and spread news quickly, the word got back to the king. As a result the king took back the mercy shown. The unmerciful servant lost the mercy he initially received. Jesus warned us that is how our heavenly Father is with us. I saw the warning signs flashing.
I decided to toss out my three-step plan, repent and obey the scriptures. Scriptures tell us God is a God of mercy. Deuteronomy 4:31 states, “For the LORD your God is a merciful God.” Since our Lord is a merciful God, he requires us to be merciful. Zechariah 7:9 reads, “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.”
Therefore, according to the Word of God, I’m to show mercy and compassion to those I love. I am challenging myself this week to stop barking orders, stop demanding my way in every situation, stop showing harshness with errors, and instead, showing kindness and compassion in all areas of my home.
I believe as I am merciful, I will be blessed. Blessed with what? Others being merciful to me? I don’t know, but I believe the blessing that comes with this act of obedience is peace in my heart and peace in my home. I think the enemy would love to get his foot in my door, but I’m not letting him in my house. I will guard my heart and my home through obedience to the scriptures. Being merciful to others will protect me from bitterness, envy, jealousy, and anger. Acting in mercy will bring blessings.
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5 gracious comments:
Shonda so am I. Just last night I was telling myself that I should hold my tongue. I need to quit making something small into something big with my family. Somethings just really don't matter. My husband and I never argue, but last night after a long stressful weekend I found myself "barking" orders and being hateful. He was just as tired as I was and I had to apologize.
Being merciful and forgiving toward others certainly helps bring peace, and peace of mind. Thank you for sharing this lovely post, Shonda!
Connie
Mercy is so very much something that I am having to pray into my life. The joke between me and my friend (who does have the spiritual gift of mercy) is that I was in the wrong line when they wree giving mercy gifts out. However, the Lord and I are working on this and I find that the more I ask Him for the capacity to show mercy, the more He provides it. Praise Him!!
leah
Good post about mercy, the song above, too. It is hard for most of us to be merciful, because if we have been badly hurt, we like being in the driver's seat for a while! As you mentioned, we like the control.
I linked here from another site (can't remember which one) and like your blog. You are a good writer. If you get a chance, please visit mine, Family Fountain.
I caught myself in the same trap the other day. I demand perfecion from my family but I expect to be forgiven by God when I make mistakes. I thought how can I be forgiven if I can't forgive?
Great post. First time visitor but I see we have some common friends.
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