The cut and thrust of business life is all about getting the advantage: mercy is seen as a weakness to be despised, unless it is a way of manipulating people. Jesus never manipulated people: He specialised in helping weak people by showing mercy. Yet, He was despised for respecting women, rebuked for listening to children, distained for meeting lepers and reviled when He was crucified. Even so, He prayed that His Father would forgive them (Luke 23:34). They showed Jesus no mercy, and yet He showed mercy to the man crucified next to Him (Luke 23:39-43).

Mercy is a heart-attitude which is neither patronising nor condescending: it does not look down on those who are down, nor does it boast about its kindness. Mercy accepts that others are not worthy in themselves, and yet delights to lift them up with no thought of reward. This is a huge part of God's nature. Mercy is a close relative to love, kindness and faithfulness: it applies loving kindness to people who do not deserve it. It withholds punishment and blesses the unlovely. If there was no mercy there would be no hope for sinners. But God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) which is why He is the author of hope.

Those who share God's heart will be merciful to others (Jude 22-23). They recognise their own weakness; they have no pride in their own holiness and know how much they have been forgiven. God trains His people to be merciful in an unusual way: He allows them to feel the weight of their own sin, the shame of their own rebellion, the weakness of their own nature and the wickedness of their own heart. He does this in order to urge them to appeal to Him for mercy, and have the joyful personal experience of being ransomed, healed, restored and forgiven. Knowing that their sin has been put away, and a new start has been granted, they rejoice in God's mercy and freedom. That is the start of them being merciful to others and their joy is part of their blessing. It validates their humility of heart and opens the door for yet more mercy to be poured upon them.

So, instead of criticising, know that the sinner in front of you will only change when they receive mercy. It may be that they have never experienced that kind of love, or welcomed as a sinner. Your act of mercy is a demonstration of the gospel, and when they ask, you can tell them how merciful God has been towards you in Christ. And yet we also keep sinning and the more we criticise others, the more tightly we get wedged into our own pride. So being merciful to others reminds us of our own indebtedness to God; it helps us to rejoice in our own salvation and be glad that God's mercy is open to everyone. What a blessing!