Romans 12:8
“Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”
In Romans 12, Paul goes through a list of gifts that people have. These gifts which he discusses are prophecy, ministering, teaching, exhortation, ruling and mercy. It’s not that every person can’t do these things, it is simply that some are better at these than others because it is their gift.
When he talks about the gift of mercy, he commands that mercy should be shown “with cheerfulness.” In other words, mercy should never be given in a begrudging manner, but it should be given cheerfully. Why did he tell us to give mercy cheerfully? Because in order for mercy to be given, it implies that you have been wronged. Paul is saying that when you have been wronged, it should not pain you to have to show mercy. Let me give you some thoughts on how to show cheerful mercy.
First, realize that you are being a great example of Christ. Nobody exemplifies cheerful mercy better than Jesus Christ. Jesus was crucified because of our sins, yet He is cheerfully merciful towards us because He wants us in Heaven. I don’t know of a better way to represent Christ than to be cheerfully merciful towards people who have hurt you. This is the opposite of what the flesh desires to do. The flesh wants revenge. So, when a Christian shows mercy with cheerfulness, it shows those watching the power of Christ working in the one showing mercy.
Second, realize that cheerful mercy mends relationships. Again, let’s look at Christ. Why did Christ show mercy to us? Because He wanted to restore our relationship with Him. As much as we have hurt Christ, He understood that His mercy would restore our relationship with Him. Yes, Christ could have condemned us to Hell and never given us a chance to be saved, but He would rather have a relationship with us, so He showed us mercy.
Friend, if you ended a relationship every time someone hurt you, then you would have no relationships at all. Everybody will hurt you at some point. Don’t be quick to end relationships. Instead, realize that you could be gaining a lifelong relationship with someone if you show mercy. That thought should cause you to be cheerful about showing mercy.
Third, if you show cheerful mercy to those who have wronged you, then you will find cheerful mercy will be shown to you when you do wrong. The principle of sowing and reaping applies to mercy as well. “Give and it shall be given unto you…” applies to cheerful mercy. Simply remind yourself that by showing cheerful mercy it is like putting money in the bank for the day when you will need to withdraw cheerful mercy from your spiritual bank. You are going to need someone to cheerfully show mercy towards you at some point in your life, so make deposits into that account so you have a balance of mercy to withdraw when you need it.
Giving mercy cheerfully really should not be a hard thing to do. When you make your life about others, then it will not be difficult to have cheerful mercy towards them when they wrong you. Let me ask you, do you have a balance in your mercy account? Don’t make your life about revenge, but be cheerful that you can represent Christ by showing mercy to those who do you wrong.