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All of us have seen the movie scene where the good guy is merciful and spares the criminal, right? But we may not realize that mercy can contribute to healthy living on a daily basis. In this Fast Track series episode Larry discusses what the Bible says about God acting in mercy. He highlights the quality is vital for our emotional health as well. It’s crazy how our well-being grows with Mercy received and given!
Sections include:
Do X, Get Y? Not with Mercy
A Merciful God
Mercy is good for our well-being
CITED:
Diana Butler Bass, Grateful: the Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks. (New York: HarperCollins, 2018).
Emma Seppala, “The Compassionate Mind.” https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-compassionate-mind
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Have you ever known someone who was just too generous? The gal who pays for the person behind her in the drive through lane, or the guy who stops to help by every broken-down car? I’ve got an even bigger story of generosity than that. It’s the crazy mercy of God and what that means for a healthy lifestyle.
Mercy may be in short supply today. The cultural ideal is the person who achieves success on their own efforts, affording little respect for a person who doesn’t earn their way. “Welfare queens” and men born with a “silver spoon” of riches are often scorned. We value the ethos of the “self-made man” and “try, try again.” Therefore, we may be bothered when the Scripture has a different take on our capacities, saying that finding God’s favor “does not depend on human desire or effort but on God’s mercy” (Romans 9:16). It seems like God should be persuaded to bless me if I pray just right, give more money, help random strangers, or die in a just cause. That’s a contract of reciprocity I can understand: if I do “X” then God does “Y.”
Mercy? This quality throws the loop of reciprocity out of whack. Life changes when mercy is considered. A judge may choose to reduce a fine as an act of mercy, or a cattleman keep a deformed calf for a pet. Mercy is messy and unpredictable. And what if God extended mercy and grace to just anyone, especially people that aren’t following the reciprocal contract? That doesn’t fit into the system!
Several times in Scripture God declares, “I will have mercy on who I will have mercy” (Exodus 33:19; Romans 9:15). This statement is not the declaration of a capricious God. Instead, it is the exclamation of a loving God who bestows unearned favor. Expressed here is the amazing miracle that God has chosen to be merciful to the entire human race through the work of Jesus, extending the grace of salvation to all! “Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.” (Ephesians 2:4-5). The Divine has broken the demand of the reciprocal religious system that seeks to earn the blessing. This is a different “moral equation,” according to Diana Butler Bass in Gratitude: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks. She writes that mercy breaks the standard model of quid pro quo bringing us into harmony with the “nature of the universe itself, given by God… Everything is a gift.” (p. 19-21).
Here’s something even more amazing: behaving toward others with mercy is good for us. Research shows that offering mercy, compassion, or forgiveness promotes psychological and physical health. Psychologist Emma Seppala writes, “Compassion may have ensured our survival because of its tremendous benefits for both physical and mental health and overall well-being.” Scripture supports this lifestyle of mercy as vital for spiritual health as well. The ancient prophet Micah said the way to please God is to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.” This crazy mercy is indeed powerful stuff!
It's worth considering how acts of mercy, compassion, or caring could be lived out today. Maybe someone needs your listening ear and support without advice. Perhaps an elderly neighbor needs a hand around his place. Even larger, could a strained relationship be mended if you forgave a wrong, gave grace to smooth over some rash words, or brought compassion?
Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful.” Crazy mercy is there for you to receive and to give for better well-being.
CITED
Diana Butler Bass, Grateful: the Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks. (New York: HarperCollins, 2018).
Emma Seppala, “The Compassionate Mind.” https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-compassionate-mind