M for Mercy

5:53:00 PM

He did something wrong. He was taken to court and all evidence was against him. He deserves to go behind bars, to die. People all around him are pointing fingers. They want him punished as his crime was heinous.
He was you.

M-Mercy
Haven't we all been in situations where we did something wrong? We deserved the punishment that was coming but we kept longing and looking for love and acceptance. We longed for mercy.

In the early days of his presidency, Calvin Coolidge awoke one morning in his hotel room to find a burglar going through his pockets. Coolidge spoke up, asking the burglar not to take his watch chain because it contained an engraved charm he wanted to keep. Coolidge then engaged the thief in quiet conversation and discovered he was a college student who had no money to pay his hotel bill or buy a ticket back to the campus. Coolidge counted $32 out of his wallet -- which he persuaded the dazed young man to return! -- declared it to be a loan, and advised the young man to leave the way he had come so as to avoid the Secret Service! The young man was reported to have paid back his loan later!

Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting all that we deserve and grace is getting what we don’t deserve.

In any relationship, when we learn to be the mercy giver, it gives a new lease of life to the wrongdoer. It’s true that they deserve to get what’s coming at them, but when we learn to be merciful coupled with forgiveness and compassion, it enables the wrongdoer to change his/her ways. It forges the relationship to a deeper level than what it earlier used to be.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” 

Take Away Principle: Mercy enables the wrongdoer to change his/her ways thereby forging the relationship to a deeper level. Mercy bears more fruit than justice.

Tips on Mercy:
1.      Choose to be a mercy giver.
2.      Put yourself in the place of the wrongdoer.
3.      Don't be quick to judge people on account of what they have done rather be quick to forgive.

4.      Give the person a second chance. Understand that there might be deeper roots to why they are in the wrong.

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12 comments

  1. This is such a powerful message and has touched my heart more than any words can say. Thank you! ♥

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  2. Goes well with your previous posts, Danny !! Loved this for the sweet message :) let's stop being judgemental, and show some mercy on others:) do unto others as you would want them do unto you !:)

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  3. Another thought provoking post, Danny! Love the differentiators between Justice, Grace and Mercy! Thanks for sharing :)

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  4. Very nice Danny!!!! The message conveyed was beautiful!

    ~S(t)ri
    Participant|AtoZ Challenge 2014
    Smile, it makes (y)our day!

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  5. Love those definitions for justice, mercy, and grace. Spot-on :) Thanks for the visit over at Life In Dogs !

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  6. Now, you know this is a post after my own heart!

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  7. Put yourself in the place of the wrongdoer. I always do that. And it helps a lot.
    Lovely post Danny.

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  8. Good words of advice, but I would temper that with it all depends on what crime or indiscretion the wrong doer committed. Some things are more forgivable than others, in my opinion.

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  9. A very wonderful message, conveyed so well with that anecdote on Coolidge. We need more mercy, more grace and more love in this world. Well said, Danny!


    ~Shailaja's latest A~Z post

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  10. Good post. Mercy is one of those points some people struggle with. Those people usually get painted as villains in books.

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  11. We have practiced this in our stores and it is amazing to watch how it changes those people that once wanted to hurt you -- now they protect you because you showed them mercy.

    Carol @ Battered Hope

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