Mercy

I did want this blog to be about my theological thinking as it progresses. I had almost forgotten about the need to develop a communication style, that is not just write theological essays but to actually be human to human. It is too easy to be extreme to extreme.

Anyway, I have talked and written on mercy before, I do want to write on grace one day, but it will take some work! Although I like to hear a well structured study, I really do not like giving them. This is telling me something about my possible style. How do "I" communicate my understanding of grace without simply repeating the well presented study/ studies that I have heard? I have heard so many different delivery styles, I am sure you have heard the emotive shouters, the erudite theologians and so on. Perhaps you have heard the wise owls who tell you a story that has so much meaning. You may have heard the great communicators who have you laughing while they share great depths of understanding. Perhaps you have heard Rob Hartman (if that's his name) he preaches by telling a story and getting the congregation to play parts in the story. It sounds frightening to those who hate public speaking, but he is so good at it, he has the most conservative of people making the funniest of noises!

With all those rich and well trodden paths of communication, I still do not know what mine is. By that I sometimes find myself communicating in ways that aren't me and everyone lets me know it. There are other times when people tell me I communicated well and I didn't think it was me! Surely the essence to it has to be, when I'm comfortable in what I am doing and people are receiving what I am doing then that is the most efficient style. However, As I say, when I am comfortable I tend to make others uncomfortable and when others receive it was usually when I wasn't comfortable! So, maybe there is a flaw in my logic! Or maybe I am just not one of God's great communicators!

Anyway, what has that got to do with mercy? Nothing really, I got lost in some self reflection about how I share! Mercy, basically, mercy is something we need when we have nowhere else to go. The beggar, the condemned man need mercy because they have no other option. We need God's mercy. We as sinners have nothing we can do to save ourselves and are only saved by God's mercy. God then asks us to be merciful. If we need mercy then so does everyone else. Part of Jesus' thrust was on the subject of mercy, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector and the parable of the unforgiving servant are both about recognising that others need the same mercy we need.

Today, I was in a supermarket and went to customer services. I had forgotten to take a voucher with me last week and was told that next time I was in, if I took it to costumer services with my receipt it would be OK. So I took my voucher with my receipt to costumer services the next time I was in (a week later). Only it turns out that costumer services aren't as flexible as the checkout lady thought! It turns out that the voucher was now out of date!

I went from happy little shopper to "I want to rip your inhuman head off!" in less time than is measurable!

Here I am a Christian who would like to make mercy part of what I stand for and I can't even deal with the simplest of modern life's little issues! Whether this is an inhuman world or not that costumer services rep deserves to be treated as human. It wasn't her fault that the system she represents is inhuman. She needed mercy as much as I do. In some ways I could think about the chain of events I have set off, there is no doubt that my frustration upset her. I didn't really say anything, I have obviously developed the ability to show my anger without doing or saying anything! Paul does say "be angry" but immediately says "But sin not!" Taking what Jesus said, not showing mercy is a greater sin than not tithing one's mint and cumin!

What frustrates me more, is that yet again I fell. I know I am forgiven. But I have this struggle with how can I be of use if I am not perfect?! But that is where God's mercy comes in. No one is perfect yet He uses people anyway! I have heard many stories about preachers losing their rags.

Going back to style. There are preachers who really know their stuff and are well worth listening to as far as content is concerned and there in lies the trap. They preach in a style that only looks at perfection as if they never fall. There in lies feelings of condemnation! And worse, those who are not self aware condemn others. The puritans went this way. Mercy is essential. Mercy probably needs to have humour attached, we either have the attitude of condemnation or laughing at ourselves!

"Laughter does good like medicine!" (Provs 17,22) To beat myself up for not showing mercy is to commit another sin of unforgiveness to myself. It is pride that says I should be better than that. But I am not better than that. Jesus may have given me a new nature, but my old nature is still alive and kicking! Nowhere in scripture are we told that we will be perfected in this life. So I should stop acting as if I will be. Maybe, just maybe, God wants us to "lighten up a bit!" Joy is part of the fruit of the spirit. In fact I would say it is the first part! The list begins "Love, Joy, Peace." But we know from 1 Corinthians 13 that these "other" fruit are summed up in love. Therefore the first quality of love that the Holy Spirit gives us is joy! Using Paul's language from 1 Cor 13, "If you have not joy, then you have not love!"

There is a wonderful saying, "Do not let the devil steel your joy as the joy of the Lord is our strength!" So, having allowed the devil to steel my joy over a voucher it is foolish to allow it to remain stolen!

James does say, "Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. " (James 4:9) (Cheerful so and so isn't he!) But in context, Jame's is talking to the kind of people who are laughing at their sinfulness. For example, if I laughed about how I made that poor woman feel then I should turn my laughter to mourning. But having confessed the situation, I take my hands off of my santification and hand it back to God. If I beat myself up I am trying to sanctify myself, But if I receive His joy then I am allowing Him to sanctify me. We are sanctified by His grace! Don't get me started on grace!