Honest But Uncomfortable Definitions: Mercy

Mercy:

1-Something everyone loves to receive, but few people enjoy giving. 

2- Refusing to take enjoyment out of the mistakes others make and the punishment they receive.

Imagine for a moment that a news van on the way to cover a story happened upon an act of heroism. Let’s say that they catch on film a car packed with senior adults toppling off a bridge into a river in the middle of winter. As they are calling emergency services for help,  a 6 year old boy jumps into  the icy, frigid waters and one by one drags each of the people to safety on the shore. Not only that, while saving them, he sees and rescues 3 baby seals and a tiny puppy who had also managed to fall into the deadly water.

That would be an incredible story, and would likely be the lead on the nightly news, unless…..

A celebrity, politician, athlete, etc… made a colossally bad decision.

These are the stories we love to see the most, and there is unfortunately a never ending supply of them for us to revel in. Drug abuse, money-grabbing schemes, affairs, physical abuse, and the list goes on and on. We want to hear about the story as soon as it happens, and we want constant updates after that. How quickly did he know? Where did she hide the money? Who else was involved? We want access to all of the gruesome details.

And it’s a toxic way to live.

I hunger deeply for justice, and I despise injustice (especially when I am not at fault – but that’s for another post). I believe that people should answer for their crimes, and reap the consequences of their behavior. It’s healthy to hate injustice. It’s important to seek to bring justice to our world. Enjoying the downfall of others, however, has nothing to do with justice.  Hours after the latest scandal has been unearthed, thousands flock to Facebook and Twitter to weigh in. All are sure the punishment, whatever it will be, will not be enough. The true motives of anyone who does not seem sufficiently enraged are called into question. Drunk driving or physical abuse were just as important hours before the scandal, but few people took time to write anything about them at that time. What’s even more troubling is that after the scandal of the hour passes, people often stop writing and stop thinking about the dangers of abuse and the need for care for it’s victims. Instead, everyone travels forward in a social media mob in search of the next injustice to rail against.

The fight for justice is a never ending battle. It doesn’t stop when it’s no longer “trending”. My plea and my goal is simply to fight for justice but at the same time to love mercy. It’s the combination our world needs the most. 

Honest But Uncomfortable Definitions: Meekness

Meekness:  

Strength restrained. People who possess this character attribute are committed to gentleness and quietness. As opposed to those who are loud, showy, and arrogant whose only strength is often in their loud words, the meek possess a strength that is much deeper and is often expressed in sacrificial love for other people. Most often found in the people you don’t ever really notice.

As you can imagine, meek people don’t seem to get very far in our world. Those who are meek are often overlooked, ignored, and at times, walked on. It doesn’t make sense to be meek. But, Jesus’ way of doing things didn’t make a lot of sense either. Unlike Harvard University, a Fortune 500 company, or professional football teams who are looking for the best and brightest, the strongest and the fastest, Jesus said that His followers would be made up of the weakest and poorest. The last person you would pick for your team would likely be Jesus’ first pick.

Imagine this, you are in charge of selecting a person for a very special assignment.  The assignment: to free over one million men, women, and children from slavery. The candidate will lead those people across miles of hazardous terrain to a place where they can live in peace. It must also be noted that other people currently live at that location. They are strong, well-fed, and live in well-defended cities. Your candidate must lead his unarmed former slaves to a military victory against them.

What sort of possible candidates would come to your mind?? It would need to be someone incredibly courageous, with the ability to motivate people with their eloquent words. It would be important that they also have military and leadership experience. Who would you choose? George Washington? Napoleon? Iron Man?

How about a gentle-natured shepherd with a speech impediment?

That’s who God selected.

 A writer of the Torah described him like this:

“Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all the people who were on the face of the earth.”                                                    

                                                                -Numbers 12:3

Moses wasn’t just a little quiet and slightly gentle. He was the most gentle and quiet man on the planet! God often selects meek people to change the world. A couple of thousand years later, Jesus would say it like this:

               

            “God blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will belong to them.”

                                                                                -Matthew 5:5

Although meekness rarely seems to get you ahead in this world, it does seem to matter greatly to God. God likes underdogs. So, if you are feeling trampled on and overlooked today, don’t get discouraged! God may be preparing to you change the world!

Honest But Uncomfortable Definitions: Arrogance

Arrogance:

A trait exhibited by those who doubt their own intelligence. It is often manifested by the person incessantly telling you about the depths and uniqueness of their intelligence. People who are arrogant may or may not actually be intelligent (although, people who know they are intelligent most often don’t feel the need to try to convince others of it). Arrogant people desire the approval of those around them, but are very difficult to endure, and therefore very rarely get it.  Arrogance isn’t incurable, but it takes a great deal of humility and honest to eradicate it once you have contracted it.

How to deal with it in others:

Arrogance is most often defended by a combination of a blank stare and the phrase “hey, how about that”. For example:

Your coworker: (with a smug look on his/her face) I had to spend 40 minutes on the phone with that lady before she finally understood what I was saying. She told me that no one had ever explained things to her as well as I had. I don’t know what this place would do without me.

You: (with a blank stare on your face- see above for example) Hey, how about that. (Exit the conversation immediately; it doesn’t really matter where you go.

How to deal with it in yourself:

Admitting that you are arrogant is 80% of the battle. Remind yourself at least three times each day that no one really cares how intelligent you are, so long as you treat them decently. Repeat process as needed until arrogance is in remission.