“Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God’s mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.”—Saint John Chrysostom
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Mercy, said Warren Ravenscroft, “is to show kindness, compassion or pity, appease, gain tolerance, favor, or forgiveness.”
All those are given by someone who has the power to another person. It also means clemency.
A young soldier in the French army committed an act so heinous that it warranted the death penalty. On the eve of his execution by firing squad, the soldier’s mother sought an audience with Napoleon Bonaparte. She implored him to show compassion for her son.
Upon hearing her request, Napoleon responded, “Madam, your son is unworthy of mercy.” The mother replied, “I am aware of that.” After a brief pause, she added, “If my son were deserving, it would not be mercy.”
Mercy also means “a disposition to be kind and forgiving” as in a heart full of mercy. It may also mean a blessing or “something for which to be thankful.”
At one time, a family with six members figured in an accident. Fortunately, no one perished in the fatal incident. “It was a mercy that no one was hurt,” an observer was quoted as saying.
Remember the movies like Schindler’s List and The Diary of Anne Frank? Both happened at the time of Adolf Hitler, an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. Most historians agree that Hitler issued an explicit order to kill all Jews across Europe.
Taking in those Jewish refugees was an act of mercy. Mercy in this case is an “alleviation of distress; relief.” The Holy Bible tells us that those who are merciful are blessed “for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).
Synonyms for mercy include leniency, lenity, clemency and charity. Leniency and lenity imply mildness, gentleness, and often a tendency to reduce punishment. “When you have gone too far to recede, do not sue (appeal) to me for leniency,” wrote Charles Dickens.
“Lenity will operate with greater force, in some instances, than rigor,” said George Washington. “It is therefore my first wish to have my whole conduct distinguished by it.”
At various stages in our lives, each of us requires compassion. We all make mistakes. We often utter imprudent remarks that would be wiser left unspoken. Each of us has engaged in actions we would prefer to retract. In such instances, we recognize that we must face the repercussions of our indiscretions.
The friend we have disappointed may justifiably withhold their trust. The parent we have disobeyed is entitled to impose discipline. The person we have wronged may feel justified in withholding forgiveness.
What if you find yourself in a position of being wronged? Your closest friend has pursued your girlfriend, and she has chosen to be with him. Additionally, your sister has acted irresponsibly. Furthermore, your parents have disregarded your feelings by granting the land you have long requested to your other unworthy brother.
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller reminded, “As freely as the firmament embraces the world, so mercy must encircle friend and foe. The sun pours forth impartially his beams through all the regions of infinity; heaven bestows the dew equally on every thirsty plant. Whatever is good and comes from on high is universal and without reserve: but in the heart’s recesses darkness dwells.”
Allow me to share this very popular story. Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants’ accounts. He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. The servant did not have enough to pay his debt. So, the king ordered that he would be sold as a slave. Not only him, but also his wife and his children and all that he possesses so that he can pay his debt.
The servant fell on his knees before the king. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay you everything!” The king showed mercy to the servant. He decided to forgive him the debt and let him go. “You can go now,” he told him. “Your debt has been forfeited.”
The servant left the palace. Along the way, he met a fellow servant, who owed him a few dollars. Immediately, he grabbed him and started choking him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he said.
The fellow servant fell down and begged him. “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!” But he refused; instead, he had him thrown into jail until he paid the debt.
When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him the story. Hearing this, the king called the servant in. “You worthless slave,” the king shouted. “I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to. You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you.”
The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he paid back the whole amount.
If the above story sounds familiar to you, it’s because it’s taken from the Holy Bible (Matthew 18:23-34).
Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes commented: “Among the attributes of God, although they are all equal, mercy shines with even more brilliancy than justice.” Edward Reynolds adds, “God’s mercy is a holy mercy, which knows how to pardon sin, not to protect it; it is a sanctuary for the penitent, not for the presumptuous.”
