Proverbs 12:1I love to extend mercy. But, tread on my mercy and I become a bear. There is something within me that believes that if I extend mercy, then the perpetrator will change his ways. Certainly, if I extend mercy, the recipient of this wonderful gift will see the foolishness of his his ways, and be transformed. When mercy is honored, what a great feeling! When it is tread upon, when I am played for the fool, oh, how disappointing and piercing to the soul. If you haven't guessed it, I extended mercy this past week and got tread upon. Not a very good feeling. However, as I read through the verses above, one can almost pity the one who has scorned instruction.
1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid.
Proverbs 13:13
13 He who scorns instruction will pay for it,
but he who respects a command is rewarded.
Proverbs 13:18
18 He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame,
but whoever heeds correction is honored.
Proverbs 14:9
9 Fools mock at making amends for sin,
but goodwill is found among the upright.
Proverbs 15:32
32 He who ignores discipline despises himself,
but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.
This makes me wonder about my motives in extending mercy. How can I be put off by a such a small "tread"....I sure do have a ways to go. I wonder how the LORD does it?....
The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Exodus 34:6b-7a
Headmaster:
ReplyDeleteIt's "slow to anger", not "never angry"!
"...anger and frustration are certainly understandable and can indeed be signs of the depth of our longing for the consummation of God's Kingdom." Jones, G., Embodying Forgiveness: a Theological Analysis.
Our professed way of life requires us to be merciful; if we are not merciful, we should not expect mercy for ourselves at the judgment. Sounds like a pretty good motive to me. And as for anger and frustration, it sounds like my fellow Dukie quoted above would give you a break, too. Do you think Paul beat himself up over his anger when his "ministry of reconciliation" was frustrated by the shortcomings of the other party?
I would be willing to wager that God's verdict of your action will be: Dikaiosyne!
Your friend,
Tim B.