mercy or revenge…

I’m on a great mailing list – there is a gentleman who retired from the company I work for and he sends out a weekly or sometimes bi-weekly newsletter he calls “Breadcrumbs” – there is always great stuff in this newsletter. The following came from that newsletter and caused me to pause and think. I like that 🙂

“Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”  (Colossians 3:13ESV)

We all stumble, we all sin, we all blow it, we all make mistakes, and no one is perfect except Jesus Himself. Therefore, we all need massive doses of mercy. Since we are all imperfect this may be the most common way to bless other people. When people around you make a mistake – at work, at school, at home – what do you do? You should show mercy.

Here’s the problem. You only learn mercy by being hurt. God may allow some pain – some hurt – in your life where you learn to express mercy. You will not have to forgive anybody more than God has already forgiven you. This is the motivation for our mercy. God has been merciful to you, so you need to be merciful to others.

Every time we get hurt, we have a choice. “Am I going to use my energy for retaliation or for reconciliation? Am I going to use my energy for revenge or am I going to use it for restoration?” We don’t have enough energy to do both.

We need to develop reputations wherever we are as people who show mercy. Christ-followers should not be known for what we are against. Christians should be known for our mercy. “He’s the most forgiving person in the office.” “She’s the most merciful person at our worksite.”

When someone makes a mistake, when someone blows it, how do you lift them up with your words?  You don’t rub it in: “That was stupid! What were you thinking when you did that? You idiot!” No, you don’t rub it in, you rub it out.

Some have a hard time doing this because they do not know the difference between forgiveness and trust. God calls us to forgive people immediately whether they ask for it or not. In fact, for believers in Christ, forgiving people is not optional. If you claim to be a Christ-follower, you must forgive them and trust God. However, that does not mean that you continue to let them do what they are doing.  For instance, if you’re in a home situation and someone has been abusing you, you change that situation; but, you have to forgive them so you don’t hold on to resentment and grudge, which ends up hurting you more and more as long as you hold on to it.

The fact is the people in your life who you least want to forgive are the people who need it the most- the unlovely people – the people you don’t want to love. Hurt people hurt people.   So here’s the secret of mercy – learn their background. When you find out the background of people, you cut them a whole lot more slack. You find out the background of people and the hurts and heartaches they’ve been through you’re going to be a lot more forgiving. You start looking at people with the eyes of Jesus. That’s mercy.

Who needs your mercy? Think about it right now. Write it down.  Now, work toward sharing a word of mercy with those on your list.