Blessed are the Merciful

“Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” Matthew 18:32-35 (NLT)

Most of us have used the expression, “Do as I say not as I do.” At some point, we have all experienced the hypocrisy of those closest to us – family, friends, work colleagues – as well as people in the public eye. For example, wearing face masks. Authority figures tell us to wear them and then we see photos of them not wearing them. We call them “hypocrites”. My dad used to tell me not to smoke but he smoked. Hypocrite. I tell men to be sensitive to their wives and recognize their needs, but when my wife asks me to do something I snap at her, “I’m busy. I’ll do it later.” Whoops! Now who’s the hypocrite?

But God isn’t about pointing fingers at others or even ourselves. He wants us to remember the mercy and grace He shows us and expects us to show the same compassion with everyone else. If we follow Jesus and seek His heart, we know He will give us understanding to forgive the hypocrisies we notice around us. Through prayer and meditation of His Word, He will guide us in forgiving our own judgments and misdeeds so we can pursue His calling on our lives.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7 (NIV)

These are the “red” words – Jesus’ Word to us. The servant should have shown mercy on his fellow servant. But we can make the right decision to guard our tongues before we speak and allow the Holy Spirit to give us the right attitude and response in all circumstances.