Love Mercy

Read Micah 6:1-8

Will the Lord of all the earth not do right?

God is good.  He is righteous.  He is just.

God is just.  Without God, there would be no justice.  Right and wrong emanate from our Creator.  For those who think that this whole thing is just a cosmic accident put into motion without a creator of any sorts, then justice in incomprehensible.

How can justice derive from accident and coincidence?  If we all evolved from single cells in the ocean then survival, not justice becomes our core value.

But it seems that almost all of us want justice at some point in our lives.  Usually, it’s right after the call goes against us and the blind referee—some would say that I am being redundant—is marking of 15 yards against our favorite team.

Even Superman was for truth, justice, and the American way.

We like to think that justice is blind.  We like to think that there is equal justice under the law.  What do we say at the end of the pledge of allegiance?  Isn’t it liberty and justice for all?  These are lofty goals, American goals, and on occasion, even achievable goals.  Often, they are just out of reach.

Justice is a unique concept.  When we look at everyone else, we want justice.  When we look in the mirror, we much prefer mercy over justice.

Isn’t that our nature?  We want liberty and justice for all, and some mercy for me.

We have discussed the mercy that we know.  God is merciful.  He is also just but we seem to be a lot more thankful that he is merciful.  That’s who God is, but what about us?

What does God require of us with regard to justice and mercy?

The two qualities are not exclusive of each other.  God doesn’t seem to have a problem with justice and mercy.  His heart is full of mercy but he administers justice. 

The prophet tells us to seek justice but to love mercy.  Being fair and just and doing what is right must always be a part of who we are, but mercy must be the desire of our hearts.  We must love being merciful.

What’s the point of following all of the rules if there is no mercy in us?  God’s Chosen People went down this road a few times.  Their sacrifices and offerings were empty.  Sure the grain or the goat was present, but the heart of the giver gave way to some perfunctory performance. 

The people were going through the motions.  They just existed day to day without much life in their life.  They just didn’t want the sorry end of the stick when justice was being handed out.

What a pitiful and passionless way to live.  I just don’t want to get hit by lightning or lose my crop or go to hell.  How many goats and buckets of olive oil must I bring to save my sorry self from the fires of hell?

Surely the roots of many eastern religions come out of this thinking.  The purpose of my existence is the elimination of suffering.  Life is suffering and victory in life is reducing suffering, especially my own.

Life is suffering.  The goal of my existence is to reach a plane of nonexistence.

What a way to live!  Yet, God’s people were on this track of minimizing their suffering at the expense of truly serving a God who designed them to truly live.

Yeah, God’s there.  I know it, but I’ve got bills to pay and kids to raise and Facebook posts to make.  I just don’t want to lose what I have.  I don’t want things to get worse.

What a way to live!

Have you ever watched a football team lead all of the way through the game and then start playing not to lose?  It’s a pitiful sight.  They had the upper hand for most of the game and then they changed they way they played so as not to lose the game instead of playing the best that they can every minute.

God’s message to his people throughout time is that he wants them to live.  He wants them to live a good life and bring glory to his name.  When we make mistakes, he wants us to confess to him and receive his mercy.  When we do this we can get back to living.

God, who is infinite in his wisdom, created us to live a finite time in these bodies.  Eternity is in store for us, but every moment in this life is precious.  How we live, especially those of us with Christ in our hearts, is a precious commodity.  We use phrases such as work out your salvation, walk in the truth, and number your days to focus on how we are to live.

Justice is important.  Loving mercy more than justice makes us more like our Creator.

Which brings us to Karma.  We like justice.  We are good with mercy, but we love karma, right?

What?

The universe has a scorecard and soon enough, you are going to get paid back for all of that mean stuff you did, especially for the mean stuff that you did to me.  That’s karma right there and it has been growing in popularity even among believers.

To seek justice is noble.

To love mercy is godly.

To want karma to do its thing is human.  I have read the Bible more than once or twice or however many times.  Some books get read more than others.  I’ve studied a lot of the original words and phrases trying my best to find the best fidelity to the original intent and the full biblical witness.

In all of my studies, I never found a single verse about karma.  Judgment, yes.  An accounting, yes.  Karma, not so much.

It would be so much easier to practice seek justice, love karma.  That’s more our inclination but the direction is to seek justice and love mercy.

We are to desire justice but love mercy.  I desired to go to NBA games when I lived in Orlando, Florida and I did go to several, but I would have loved to go to one and seen Michael Jordan play.  I checked for tickets every time that the Bulls came to town but they were sold out.  Occasionally, there would be a single ticket in the nose bleed section for several hundred dollars.

I could pay the rent for the next two months or go see Jordan.  I even thought that I could get Christopher a single ticket at an out of mind price just so he could say he saw Michael Jordan play, but decided that I didn’t want to send him in with 20,000 other Jordan crazed nuts by himself.  Besides that, the O’Rena was right next to OBT—Orange Blossom Trail—the place where the junkies and prostitutes hung out. 

My wife was never to happy that after the games that we did go to, I would take my son to the Church’s Chicken on OBT.  You want some good chicken, go to a place where a junkie needs to make enough for his next fix and he will cook you some good chicken.

I sought out tickets to other games but would have loved to have seen Jordan and got some chicken.

We are called to seek justice but to love mercy.

All things considered we would like everyone to play by the rules.  When there is an infraction, we think there should be penalty or correction or some sort of sequel that provides justice.  That’s fine.  That’s a good model, but we are called to love mercy more than justice.

Let’s put it this way.  Justice is transactional.  It works as far as regulating a civil society goes, but it is transactional. 

Mercy is transformational.  Mercy is not constrained to do certain things nor restrained from others.  Mercy crosses boundaries.  Mercy forgives that which does not deserve to be forgiven. 

When we have run awry of justice, we desire mercy for ourselves.  Last week we examined David’s petition for mercy in Psalm 51.  We already love mercy for ourselves.  We get that part.  We already love mercy for ourselves.

But we must love mercy for others.  That’s a bit more challenging.  It requires us to set aside our human heart and live out of God’s divine heart.  When we think of being made in the image and likeness of Jesus, think of living out of his heart.

We must love mercy more than we love justice and we think justice is a good thing.  Loving mercy does not lessen the need for justice, it just goes beyond what justice can achieve.

A transformed heart is a greater victory than someone paying for their trespasses by being thrown into debtor’s prison.  A renewed mind is a greater victory than one that only memorized the rules so he or she could better get around them.

Justice is transactional.  Mercy is transformational.

When we seek justice and love mercy there is a unique balance in life that lets us walk humbly with our God.  When we seek only justice, it’s hard to walk with a God of mercy.

When we seek only mercy, we deny that God is just.

When we dispense only justice, we become void of mercy.  But when we seek justice and love mercy, then we can live harmoniously in the favor of God.  We can navigate this life.

God wants us to desire what is right, what is good, and what is just, but he wants us to have a heart given over to mercy.

The prophet gave us some very concise words for good living.

Seek justice.

Love mercy.

Walk humbly with your God.

The prophet lived before the time of Christ.  Resurrection and redemption were things to come, but the prophet’s counsel survives the atonement that we received in Christ Jesus and is still good counsel for how we respond to the grace and favor of God.

Seek justice.

Love mercy.

Walk humbly with your God.

Amen.