Posts Tagged: unconditional love

“In the Business of Mercy”

On June 8, 2022 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

A friend of mine wrote the following to me the other day:

“The more I stay in ‘most of that is none of my business’ mindset, the better I feel spiritually. Even if I do disagree with what someone is doing, or if I would do it differently myself, I can mind my own business by loving them anyway and not trying to control or manipulate. I can trust God with all of it. I actually just think about Jesus and his ministry of being with the most outcast people of society, the “sinners”, and how he showed them unconditional love. That’s how I want to be. Just loving people where they’re at, even if they’re screwing up, even if they’re wrong. I’m wrong all the time. I screw up all the time. And when I do, I really need mercy and love. I think we all do.”

We are in the business of mercy. Part of mercy is often minding our own business. Most people realize when they have messed up. Some even recognize that they are messed up. And yet, as I mentioned to my wife just this morning, I tend to be an editor of other people’s lives. Why do I do that?

I suspect that the main reason is that I don’t want to come terms with the things that I need to change in my own life. Focusing on what is wrong with “those people” avoids the messy and difficult task of trying to be changed myself. It doesn’t matter too much who “those people” are. It could be Democrats or Republicans, atheists or Christians, men or women, the young or the old . . . , just as long as it isn’t me.

Perhaps I should base my own personal mercy business on the premise that I have received much mercy from God and from other people. The truth is that I have indeed received a lot of mercy.

Perhaps too, I could practice mercy toward myself. Increasingly, I am convinced that all the Christian virtues need to be practiced not only by ourselves, but also on ourselves.

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