5-Day Devo: Being Merciful in a Merciless World
By Stephen Puricelli
One of my favorite accounts to follow on Twitter exposes sports writers’ predictions from days, months, and even years ago that have proven to be false—humorously false. It’s merciless. And I love it.
One of the reasons for the success of this social media account is its simplicity. It doesn’t have to create new content. It doesn’t need to take a risk. It finds mistakes and exposes them, pure and simple. It lets the words of the exposed condemn them.
The thing about being merciless is it’s easy. Too easy. It’s not hard to throw stones at the person with the problems. It’s not hard to point out all the flaws everyone else has. It isn’t risky, kicking people while they’re down.
Here’s what’s harder: being merciful. Showing kindness when it makes no sense. Risking your reputation for the person on the margin of culture. One of the things we see in the way Jesus lived was that He was always giving His reputation away for the sake of those who were forgotten, maligned, and mistreated. Jesus, the fullness of God in human form, exemplified mercy.
In a world of merciless people, let us be a church that risks our reputation by extending mercy to those who have no one thinking on their behalf. Let us remember the forgotten, pray for the persecuted, and reach out to the uninvited.
Because we live in a merciless world, our light shines all the brighter. Our seemingly simple acts of mercy stand in defiance to a culture that creates Facebook comment wars, 1-star reviews, and Twitter rants. Let’s rise above. Mercy can and will shine bright in this dimly-lit world.
DAY 1: MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE
Read: Matthew 9:9-13
In the Old Testament, sin was dealt with through sacrifice. So, when Jesus quotes from the book of Hosea by saying God desires mercy, not sacrifice, this is what He’s saying: God’s greatest desire for us is that we would extend His love to all people, not just follow religious codes. One of the best ways we can show that our sins have been atoned for is by the way we interact with a broken world.
Respond: Why do most of us prefer to follow a set of rules rather than extend mercy to a broken and vulnerable world? What makes a rule-based system easier to follow?
DAY 2: THE VULNERABLE
Read: James 1:27 and Matthew 25:40, 45
The most vulnerable people in First Century society were widows and orphans. With no social services to support them, and with very few opportunities for women to work or own property, life was bleak at best for those who found themselves in this situation. The early church saw this need and brought mercy to the vulnerable in society. True religion, as Jesus’ half-brother James tells us, is where our faith is lived out by loving the vulnerable.
Respond: Who are the vulnerable and “least of these” in your culture today? Who, specifically in your life, are those to whom you can extend loving mercy to meet their needs?
DAY 3: THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Read: Luke 10:25-37
The irony of this famous story told by Jesus is found in the title we commonly give it: the idea that a Samaritan could be good would’ve been laughable to most First-Century Jews! Priests and Levites were considered the Jewish elites; they were thought to be close to God. Therefore, the irony of this story is that the Samaritan— viewed as a counterfeit God-follower—was the hero. The Samaritan was good because he extended mercy.
Respond: The Samaritan man was an unlikely hero. What does that tell us about who can extend mercy? What matters more: our social position or our social posture?
DAY 4: EVERYONE NEEDS MERCY
Read: Proverbs 28:13
Any time we’re caught doing the wrong thing, our first response is to hide or deny it. We try to keep our sins away, hidden from others and hidden from God. The real truth is, we do not need to hide and deny but expose and dispense of our sin.
Respond: When you’re caught doing the wrong thing, what’s your first response? Why is it so tempting to try and hide from God? How does confessing your sins help?
DAY 5: MERCY UP CLOSE
Read: James 2:8-13
It’s easy to judge others for their poor choices. It’s easy to be far away and shake our head, or even our fists. But it’s hard to be merciful in our thoughts. And it’s even more difficult to get up close and demonstrate mercy through our actions. We must never forget that God wasn’t merciful from afar, but came close to live among us to give us a new life.
Respond: Who do you show favoritism to? Who are the people you’re most likely to give the benefit of the doubt? Who are you least likely to give that same preference?