Mercy: A Vital Trait for Godly Men
Many have said, “Mercy is for the weak,” throughout my life. As I have been seeing many new articles, blogs, podcasts, and books come out on biblical masculinity, one item I have noticed that is untouched is the concept of mercy as a character trait for godly men.
To be a man of action, courage, and a warrior for Christ, there is an attribute sorely needed in today’s culture: mercy. Mercy should not be frowned upon or considered a weakness in a man; instead, it should be one of the highest qualities of any man pursuing after Christ. Here is what I mean and what this looks like.
Psalm 25:11
For Your name’s sake, O Yahweh, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
Look at the focus of what David is pleading for from God: mercy. This reveals two essential items we need as men and as Christians.
1. A necessary attitude for man
2. A provision from God
The attitude for man is the recognition of the atrocities we have committed against a Holy and perfect Creator God. Notice how David views his sins (iniquity) as great. He pleads the greatness of his sin, not the smallness, as he recognizes his sins as atrocious, heinous, vile, and evil. His focus is not on justifying why he has sinned, nor has he attempted to make excuses by comparing his sin with someone else’s. He is pleading for pardon, for mercy because of his condition and the sin he has committed against God. He is begging God for something he cannot provide himself, such as mercy and forgiveness for his sin. His sin is so great, and he recognizes that he is utterly vulnerable and needy for the provision of mercy that only Christ can give.
The second item we see in this passage is the provision from God to dispense mercy. Why should God provide or extend mercy to David? Has David earned the right to receive mercy? Has David somehow done something that affords him equity with the Holy Creator? No. David pleads with God for His name’s sake. God is not moving towards dispensing mercy by anything in us other than our misery. God does not pity sinners because we are worthy but because we require His mercy. David pleads to God for mercy for His name’s sake because the glory His mercy He imparts reflects an incredible attribute of His character. The mercy David pleads for is not because David is righteous or deserving of the mercy but because he needs God’s mercy and that the mercy reflects God's faithfulness and the free grace He imparts to those who ask.
So, how does mercy play into the character of biblical masculinity? When Christian men dispense mercy on the undeserving and forgive those who have severely wronged us, we reflect an attitude of reverence God has demonstrated and administered to us. By God extending His mercy to us, He has not weakened Himself through extending mercy; instead, He demonstrates to us the authority that only He possesses to take away our sins. When men give mercy and forgiveness to others, it shows that they genuinely understand that they are also objects of mercy and need divine mercy. When we realize that without divine mercy, we are left to wallow in our misery and darkness of our sins, we are reminded that we are children of wrath. We also recognize that we are not worthy of mercy should God have mercy on us. When we come to God for mercy, we come to Him as beggars, not as creditors or if we somehow deserve His mercy. We come to God for mercy through His Son, Jesus Christ alone.
The mercy we are granted is sufficient for the most egregious sins and for the smallest. God has an infinite supply of mercy for those who recognize their need for something He can only provide. When we realize this, we can view mercy not as a weakness but as an immense blessing. I can reflect on the mercy God has given me, and when I extend mercy to my fellow brothers or sisters, I remind myself that whatever wrong they have done me is incomparable to the wrong I have done towards Christ. The two cannot be compared, measured, or weighed to demonstrate the vastness of the chasm between the divine mercy I have received and the mercy I then extend to others. As men, when we extend mercy, we demonstrate an inward character of humility as we recognize ourselves as who we are without Christ. We are but worms crawling around in the dirt, scavenging for any form of sustenance or hope that is to be found nowhere other than in Christ. When I recognize this, my reactions are subdued, my anger subsides, and my ability to extend mercy and kindness to others grows.
As we pursue Christ and seek to bring His name glory, let us not grow weary in petitioning God for continual mercy through repenting our sins. May we show mercy and kindness to those around us because we understand what we have been saved from.