Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Matt. 5:7
The other night my wife saw a spider on the wall and asked me to get rid of it.
Normally I would easily squash it and that would be the end of it, but I found I didn’t have the heart to destroy it just because it was invading “my space.” It seemed cruel to take it’s life when it was doing all it knew to do. It made me think of the evening news that was filled with people being cruel to people and animals.
Sure, I may sound a bit overly sensitive but I have learned that most cruelty done to others is the result of a perverse love of ones power. Tolstoy said it best; In order to get power and retain it, it is necessary to love power; but love of power is not connected with goodness, but with the qualities that are opposite of goodness, such as pride, cunning and cruelty.”
For the Christian, to show mercy and control takes much greater power than to be cruel. Oh God make us powerful by making us mercy – full.
