Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.-Matthew. 5:7

This verse alone provides the answer to the question, why be merciful? All of us are in great need of mercy. From the lips of Jesus Himself, we see that one of the best ways to receive mercy from God is to show mercy towards others. This is not an easy, or even a popular thing to do in today's world. In America, at least, we live in a society where attitude is considered something to be admired, even glorified. Looking out for number one has become so engrained in the thoughts of the average American that many ridicule those who demonstrate meekness by seeking to "esteem others better than himself" (Phil. 2:3).

People who show true mercy are considered wimps, weaklings or fools. Those with attitude scoff at them, declaring their own intention to ensure others respect them, even if they literally have to kill someone to earn respect. But, attitude is not self-respect. It's fear. It's actually a lack of security in oneself that drives a person to try to force others to show respect that he doesn't even have for himself. When you know who you are in Christ, you don't have to prove it to anyone else. Call it the security of the humble. It's a state of mind where you know you are approved of God, and even if you do stumble He will quickly pick you up and set you aright. If the Creator of the universe says "You are OK in my book" then who can really say otherwise?

When Jesus washed his disciples' feet (Jn. 13:5) he proved that by being humble, he could never be humiliated. Jesus knew who He was in God, so the opinions of others had no effect on His sense of identity. True self-respect differs from attitude in that way: there is no need to prove anything to anyone else. Even more, those with true self-respect will not feel anything is "beneath them" when it comes to serving the needs of others. But humility is a four-letter word in modern America. It's so rare a quality that we tend to be skeptical when someone actually is humble. We naturally assume they are putting on an act, or have some sort of ulterior motive.

You can't have attitude and be merciful at the same time. Mercy is dependent on humility. Mercy is fueled by the strength that comes from the security of the humble. Attitude says, "You did something to hurt me, so now I will maintain my pride by hurting you back". Humility says, "You did something to hurt me: let's work together to keep it from happening again." Showing mercy is proof of a humble heart. And a humble heart is one of the true sacrifices God honors:

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-These, O God, You will not despise.-Ps 51:17

Because God "resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (Jas. 4:6) it would seem obvious that learning to be truly humble should be on every Christian's "A" list. Sadly, it's not: the infectious nature of attitude feeds the pride we all have to such an extent that we can end up convincing ourselves that we don't need to be humble. Which brings up the other side of the coin, which is thinking "I don't need mercy because I don't do anything wrong."

Go read James 4:6 a few times, and then decide if thinking you don't need the mercy of God isn't in itself proof of how much you do need it.

There are a great many reasons why we need God's mercy. I'll go into detail in future articles. For now, just think about ways you can show mercy towards others. One of the "laws" of life in the Kingdom of God is that you sow what you reap: God gives to you in proportion to what you give to others. I know in my own life, I have a great need of God's mercy. So, I try my best to show it toward others. I don't always succeed, which is yet another reason why I need mercy from God.