July 2025

How can I be happy if I think only of others? “Blessed are the merciful.” Matthew 5:7 Mercy is certainly something of which we like to be on the receiving end. A police officer pulls you over. You know you rolled through that stop sign. Will he show mercy and not give you a ticket? You show up just a few minutes late for work. It doesn’t matter that you think you have a good reason—you are late. Will your boss show you mercy? You forgot your anniversary! There is no good excuse. Will your spouse show you mercy? If I like to be on the receiving end so much, why is it that I often struggle to be merciful to others? Why do I have a hard time forgiving my loved ones when I want them to be forgiving toward me? Why is that I have such a hard time showing kindness to my coworkers or neighbors? Is it often because I feel that if I show kindness and mercy to others, it will be a sacrifice for me? Will showing mercy to others rob me of opportunities for myself and take away my happiness? What is mercy really all about? For the answer we need look no further than God. He shows us what real mercy is. God looked at sinful people—a people that could offer him nothing, a people helpless to help themselves—and he showed mercy. In love and mercy that astounds us, he sent his Son, Jesus, to be our Savior. Jesus was perfect where we could never be. Jesus paid for the sins we could never pay for. Jesus lived, died, and rose again for us so we could live forever in heaven—a gift of mercy! The opportunities that God places before us in our lives to show mercy and kindness to other people can serve as constant reminders of the mercy that God has shown to us, a mercy we certainly didn’t deserve. It is God’s mercy for us that empowers us to be merciful to others and to even find happiness in showing kindness and love to other people. Jesus said, “Blessed (happy) are the merciful.” Then he goes on with a promise, “For they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7). As we show mercy to others, we will also be on the receiving end of mercy!