Mercy vs. Pity

‘Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need’ Prov.21:13.

How do you know if someone is a Christian? It is simple; ask their domestic staff or people that live with them. If the people that you have authority over do not feel mercy flow from you, then there is something wrong with that. You need to change because blessed are the merciful for they will obtain mercy. God wants you to be blessed because you are His child so it is a contradiction if you are not blessed. ‘Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be heard’ Prov.21:13 [NKJV]. You will cry and you will be answered in the Mighty Name of Jesus.  The root word for mercy in the Hebrew is the word chesed. And it means the ability to get right inside the other persons skin until we can see things with his eyes, think things with his mind, feel things with his feelings. In other words, being merciful is entering the situation of the other person, feeling their pain, and seeing the situation in their own way. A while back my elder brother made some certain decisions that I felt were totally wrong and I challenged him but he just smiled. Years later I found myself in the same situation and I made the same decision he made. It is easy to judge people when you are not in their shoes. When you are not feeling what they are feeling, it is easy to just sit on your high horse and conclude that the person is not praying enough. God will soon show you how to pray then you will know what it is to pray. There is a huge difference between mercy and pity. Pity is external, you can pity someone and even give him/her some money but mercy is different. Mercy is internal. You do not need to experience everything in life. There is no single person that can experience everything in life but don’t ignore the pain of people who are going through stuff. For instance a lady said to me how she had to go without food for days. She had to go back to breast-feeding her already weaned child so the child won’t die. I don’t have to go without food before being merciful to her. When someone shares such an experience with me, I do not take it lightly.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me pay attention to the pain of the people that You bring my way, so that I can share in their burden and show mercy, in Jesus Name.