For years my parents have offered me excellent advice. As my mother has long quoted\u2026<\/p>\n
First, in the notoriously obvious:<\/p>\n
\u201cEven a stopped clock is right twice a day.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Second, in those parental, covert operations:<\/p>\n \u201cEat your meat sticks; they are so good for you!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n (Note: unbeknownst to this then semi-picky, pre-adolescent eater, \u201cmeat sticks\u201d were nothing short of the surreptitious code word for a dreaded serving of liver.)<\/em><\/p>\n No doubt the quote I\u2019ve wrestled with most in recent weeks, as we watch a world that too often justifies finding fault in the differences in another \u2014 whether it\u2019s shouting at the refs at a divisional NFL playoff game or at the party loyalists as they argue who\u2019s most responsible for a government shutdown (even though many made opposite arguments only five years ago)<\/em> \u2014 is one that centers around the act of mercy. We aren\u2019t very good at generously offering mercy.<\/p>\n Mercy seems a bit of a foreign concept. There\u2019s a compassion aspect \u2014 and a forgiveness aspect. Mercy is that unprecedented, contagious compassion or forgiveness shown to another \u2014 or to self \u2014 when criticism and judgment are so much easier to offer. Fault does exist; but mercy is given in place of finding fault.<\/p>\n My sense is, however, we are selective in our offering of mercy.<\/p>\n For example, we forgive far faster if the erroneous flag thrown on the field benefits our team\u2026 and we have great compassion for the cringe-worthy hypocrisy when ideologically aligned with a political party.<\/p>\n We are inconsistent.<\/p>\n So back to my mother\u2019s wisdom\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cWe judge other people by their behavior; we judge ourselves by our intentions.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In other words, we judge others \u2014 or those we have a predisposition to find fault in \u2014 by what they actually do.<\/em><\/p>\n We judge ourselves \u2014 or those with whom we align somehow \u2014 by what we intend.<\/em><\/p>\n We juxtapose our intent with another\u2019s behavior; we don\u2019t judge intent vs. intent nor behavior vs. behavior.<\/p>\n I struggle with that.<\/p>\n Why?<\/p>\n Because one of my desires in loving all others well is being consistent and generous in both giving and receiving mercy. I want to take advantage of the promise that God\u2019s mercies are new every morning; think how freeing and fulfilling that would be if we lived that way daily? \u2026 if each morning we awoke with that sense of freedom not to be perfect knowing compassion and forgiveness are available each and every day?<\/em><\/p>\n I wish, too, no less, to be generous in giving mercy away\u2026 on the field, in relationship, on the political or any-for-that-matter spectrum.<\/p>\n \u201cBut they don\u2019t deserve it!\u201d<\/em> is the familiar refrain.<\/p>\n Exactly. None of us do.<\/p>\n \u201cA little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBlessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Being merciful means offering compassion and forgiveness in place of criticism and judgment\u2026 even when we can\u2019t see it\u2026 even when it\u2019s undeserving.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n Respectfully\u2026 For years my parents have offered me excellent advice. As my mother has long quoted\u2026 First, in the notoriously obvious: \u201cEven a stopped clock is right twice a day.\u201d Second, in those parental, covert operations: \u201cEat your meat sticks; they are so good for you!\u201d (Note: unbeknownst to this then semi-picky, pre-adolescent eater, \u201cmeat sticks\u201d … <\/p>\n
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"