i met a young man the other day, covered in tatoos, quiet, life in turmoil and chaos … in trouble. Across his neck he had the words “Expect No Mercy”. The tattoo reminded me of the words of someone who carries a never ending offense; someone who possibly has experienced from someone important in their lives in the past, some sort of condemnation, and it just stuck to him and wouldn’t let go. He learned the “no mercy” lifestyle somewhere. Maybe he learned he should never expect mercy for his life, actions, or reactions, and as a result he should give no mercy. Where do we learn such things?
We treat each other pretty terribly sometimes. i’m thankful, so thankful that God Almighty extends mercy to us. i’ve begun to think that if a man doesn’t know mercy, he probably doesn’t know forgiveness either. The Hebrew word for mercy denotes God’s compassion which spares us from destruction or similar dismal fates. If God did not extend us mercy and forgiveness through Christ, we would all be doomed from before we were born, but because of God’s mercy, there is hope. Jesus Christ gave His life and was resurrected from the dead due to love, and also for mercy’s sake for a dying world with no hope of life. Because of the mercy of God, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we “may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”.
Are you offended? Offended people carry a tit-for-tat posture, they tend to have no mercy for themselves or others. And what is worse, they seem to be good with walking around offended, day and night. They tend to be angry, unfulfilled, sensitive people, generally speaking. Many of them seem to be the most insulting, demeaning, crude, and crass people I’ve ever met. They think nothing of insulting others and putting them down, but say something to them about their attitude, friend you better watch out because offended people seem ready to bite anyone who challenges them. They’ve always got a growl in their throat about something. i believe, in the end, it comes down to ego, selfishness, and a sense of entitlement.
Do you carry the throwing stones of offense in your pockets, those extra handy throwing stones which fit your hands just perfectly? Haven’t you ever wondered exactly who helped you pick out those handy throwing stones? Well, it wasn’t God, i can assure you of that.
Amazing as it sounds, offense has facets, which i call faces and there are four faces of offense:
- Number of offenses
Men might forgive some, but are not prone to forgive with much repetition.
- Number of offenders
Men may pardon one or a few, but the greater the number of offenders the less inclined men are to forgive.
- Kind of offense
Men limit what sort of offenses they forgive, as long as it doesn’t cost them much and it would be to their advantage.
- Degree of offense
People will forgive an offense if it is small enough to not be of any injury to themselves. Many seem to feel that they don’t mind anything that happens as long as it doesn’t happen to them.
And who are the Friends of Offense: bitterness, anger, confusion, casting shadows, and vilifying others. They come to visit but then won’t leave, and the more they stay, the more entrenched they become. Do they live at your house? Did you invite them in one day when they came to visit but now they won’t leave?
Eph 4:31 “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” In the Message Bible translation, Hebrews 12:15 points out that the seeds of offense grow, “weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time.” How does your garden grow?
People who carry an offense, don’t know forgiveness as God has extended it to them, and as a result there is not much mercy in them for themselves or anyone else. No mercy means a life doomed to condemnation. We can either stand on mercy or stand on condemnation, but you can’t be in both camps at the same time, the bitterness will tear you in half.
i want us all to know that “God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.” “So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.” OH, how he loves you and me.
Mercy … that sounds like something i want. How about you?