How to Show Mercy

If you want to build a lifestyle of mercy,

here’s three things you can work on.

1. Mercy begins with awareness.

Look for the needs of people around you.

Start looking for needs in your neighborhood,

the needs of people in your family,

the needs of people at work,

the needs of people you hang out with at football games.

Mercy always begins with awareness.

It begins with paying attention. It begins with noticing.

The reason that we are not merciful people

is not that we are bad people or mean people;

it’s because we are too busy.

We are moving from one thing to the next

and we are not paying attention to the things around us.

If you are not looking and not listening,

you just cannot be merciful.

Here’s the next principle:

2. Mercy flows out of unconditional love.

Don’t be offended by the sins of other people.

Grace is messy. Don’t be offended by the sins that they do.

You cannot say,

“Go get your act together and then I will like you.

Go clean up your life and then I will accept you.”

You have to accept people where they are in life.

Jesus hung out with the worst kinds of sinners.

Here’s the point:

I cannot look out for people,

if I am looking down on them.

If you, as a Christian, are looking down on someone,

you can’t look out for them.

Jude 1:22-23

And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.

Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

Showing mercy does not mean

that I excuse everything and say that everything is okay.

It’s not okay.

If you are out there and are addicted to things…it’s not okay. Showing mercy does not mean that I look the other way.

There’s a difference between acceptance and approval.

Jesus accepts me completely,

but He does not approve of everything that I do.

Jesus accepts you completely,

but he does not approve of everything you do.

1 Peter 4:8

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Look out for others' interests; don’t look for their sins.

Be patient with people. They are in process.

It is unrealistic to expect a non-believer

to have the same moral standards as a believer.

First, they don’t understand it;

second, they don’t have the power to do it.

3. Mercy means choosing your words wisely.

You are never persuasive when you are abrasive.

Mercy puts a monitor on my mouth.

If I am going to show mercy,

there are some things that I just cannot say.

I have to watch my words.

I can’t be mean to people;

I can’t be rude to people;

I can’t be sarcastic to people.

I can’t put people down.

I have to choose my words carefully.

Colossians 4:6

Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

You are never persuasive when you are abrasive.

A little kindness goes a long way.

Showing mercy means thinking about the other person

instead of thinking about myself.

It is doing what is best for them

instead of doing what is best for me.

When you show mercy to people

you are sharing the love of Jesus with them.