Musing about Mercy and Judgment

Mercy.

It’s such a strange un-human concept. At our base level, no human has a knee-jerk reaction that is merciful unless there is an outside force acting upon our naturally self-centered minds. If we don’t immediately jump to revenge-mode it’s likely because of two things:

1. We are concerned about how society (read “friends or family”) will view our actions (so we reign in our desire to exact revenge or lessen our reaction to the wrong.)
2. We extend mercy as an out-flow of something deeper, purer – namely a relationship with the God of the universe, leaving room for God’s judgment. (Romans 12:9)

God sent His perfect Son to live a sinless life, be obedient to the point of shedding His blood and death, then to rise bodily from the grave – providing hope of eternal life. Through Christ’s sinless life, death, and subsequent resurrection, the penalty for sin (death) was satiated and God freely offers mercy to us despite our sinful rebellion. (Ok, I’m simplifying, but that’s basically it. God offers salvation because of Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. And contrary to popular belief, we don’t go looking for Him; He comes looking for us – Romans 3:9-12).

I don’t know about you, but when I view (perceived) wrongs I have endured from others through the expensive gift of God’s mercy – those slights shrink in importance and it’s much easier to forgive. (Not “easy,” mind you, but easier.) I mean it’s all about perspective. When I recognize with thanks that I am forgiven for the sins I have and will commit against God, how can I possibly justify not forgiving people for little things? Little things like when they cut me off in traffic, when they break my living room window with a rock, when they tell me they hate me or that despite my qualifications I’m not being considered for a promotion, when they slap me, when they rape me or threaten my life, or when they shoot me...

The parable Jesus told in Matthew 18:21-35 about the servant who owed the Master (God) and amount he could never repay, begs for mercy and is forgiven that (sin) debt against the Master; but instead of thanking the Master and extending that forgiveness to others, the servant goes out and jumps on the first person he sees who owes him a (sin) debt (equal to about a dollar in comparison to what the servant owed the Master).  (Was he trying to get the money from the guy because he was going to give it to the Master to pay for a debt that had already been paid for?) The servant threatens to imprison the guy and throw away the key until he can pay. When the guy pleads with the Master’s servant in a similar way as the servant pleaded with his Master earlier in the day, he didn’t show mercy like the Master did. Of course, the Master finds out (news travels fast) and rescinds the offer of forgiveness… yeah, not a pretty scene, but basically, if you don’t forgive, you will not be forgiven. (Matthew 6:13-15)

A similar tack is true of judgment – with the measure you judge, you will be judged (Matthew 7:1-5). Scary, huh? I tremble in fear when I realize I’m looking at someone in a judgmental way. I don’t know what is in their hearts or minds; I don’t know what their backgrounds are or if God is dealing with them or not.

Discernment and judgmentalism are two very different things, but in my feeble mind the two concepts are separated only by a bit of shrink wrap, clear and thin.

Don’t get me wrong, discernment is important for a great many things – it helps me stay alive in scary circumstances, but judging someone is so very different. Not only does judgementalism wrongly elevate me (an imperfect human) to a place I’m not meant to be (the judgment seat) and cannot justly handle – to a position rightly held only by God, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:27; Acts 10:34-43). Yeah, judgementalism on my part is like saying I know better than God how to judge the hearts of people, and that’s not my place. Because of my sin nature, I struggle to recognize my rightful place before God, not to elevate myself into the place of God like satan has done. I will admit it’s often a tight rope walk for me. Sometimes I walk that straight and narrow tight rope with seemingly perfect steps, but other times I wobble from side to side with out the least bit of balance (often because I’ve let go of His guiding hand or have taken my eyes off of Him). All sin is against Him anyway, so why do I get worked up when I know it’s not about me?