Matthew 5:7 (ESV)
⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Mercy is another one of those Bible words that is easy to define but hard to execute. Webster’s Dictionary says that mercy means, “Compassion or forbearance SHOWN especially to an offender.” The American Heritage Dictionary says, “Compassionate TREATMENT, especially of those under one’s power; clemency. A disposition to be kind and forgiving.” So basically, to be merciful is to be compassionate towards others, and to show pity and be willing to forgive those who sin against us. Why should we be merciful to others, other than the reason stated in this beatitude, that is, receiving mercy ourselves? It is because we serve a God Who is the Father of mercy (2 Corinthians 1:3). Without the mercy of God, we would all be lost. The moment we sinned we would have been put on the unchangeable path of eternal damnation. Only God’s mercy could change our direction, and we should all be thankful that it did. Now we can rejoice in the prospect of heaven, all because God decided to be merciful towards us and save us from our sins. If God could so treat us, we certainly should treat others the same way.

Do you desire to be merciful? Here are three steps you must take.

Step 1: Have the right view of others.

All people are special in God’s eyes. The man or woman who waits on you at the restaurant, the young lady who is working the register at the supermarket, and even the person driving the car too fast on the road, cutting you off as he zips into your lane, are all important to God. Do you realize that each one of these people have, not only goals and dreams in this life, but more importantly, souls that need saving? God sent Jesus to die for each one of them, just like He did for us. Jesus hung on the cross for them, as well as for me and you. We should think about that whenever we are dealing with others. It will remind us to be merciful to them when they fail to treat us the way they should. After all, we do not always treat God right either, do we?

Step 2: Develop true sensitivity for others.

To be merciful, we must learn how to empathize with others. As the saying goes, we must walk a mile in their shoes. It is easy to stand away from someone else and pass judgment concerning their situation or tell someone else what they need to do, especially when you have not lived through their situation yourself. I know it is not easy, but next time someone hurts you in some way, try to be sensitive to whatever they are going through at the time. I know that whatever they are experiencing does not give them the right, or even a reason, to treat you badly, but try to sympathize. My guess is that we have all mistreated someone at some point in time, just because we were not feeling too good.

Step 3: We must respond to our newly found sensitivity.

In the definitions that I gave on mercy, you will remember that I put into capital letters the words “shown” and “treatment.” The reason for this is because mercy is more than just a feeling. This is the difference between pity and mercy. Pity is something you feel, while mercy is an action you take. Let us not only feel sympathy for others, let us actually be merciful by doing what we can to help. It is not just our thinking that leads to being blessed by God; it is our merciful actions.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.