James Week Three

Putting Faith into Practice: Have Mercy!

Read: James 2:1-13

My sister, Marsha, is the middle child. I am the oldest, and my sister, Nancy is the youngest. But ask anyone who knows us well, and you will soon learn that Marsha is really the baby. As an infant, she was very sick, and she has always been the tiniest of the bunch. So, when we would get in trouble as children, Nancy and I would often feel sorry for her.

When it came time for her to be spanked, we would plead with Mom. “Please don’t spank Marsha. She might break!” Marsha, however, had a different perspective when it was our turn.

“Spank ‘em harder, Mom! Spank ‘em harder!” she would cheer. Sometimes Mom would forgo our punishment as she broke down in laughter; so, I guess maybe it worked after all. Regardless, when it came to her sisters, young Marsha didn’t have a lot of mercy.

Benevolence, compassion, goodwill, forgiveness—these are some of the words that describe mercy. In James 2:13, the author says something rather astounding, “There will be no mercy for those who have not show mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when He judges you.”

Wait a minute, what? We’ve all heard that God promises to love and forgive us, to even forget our sins (Psalm 43:25) when we come to Him in repentance. If that’s not mercy, I don’t know what is. So, what does this really mean?

It’s important here to remember the point of our study, the primary point of the book of James—putting faith into practice. Again, we are reminded of our memory verse, James 1:22, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

In Chapter 2, James is once again reminding us that if we are truly Christ-followers, there are certain characteristics that will be evident in our lives. One of those is mercy. God is merciful to true believers, and true believers will be merciful to others.

So, how, other than forgiving your sister for childhood indiscretions, can we show mercy in our everyday life? James shows his practicality once again by connecting mercy with how we treat others.

“My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?” (James 2:1)

• Christians, how can we claim to be people of faith if we won’t show benevolence to those in need?

• Christians, how can we claim to believe the truth of God’s word if we don’t have compassion on those less fortunate?

• Christians, how can we claim to be lovers of Christ if we fail to have goodwill for our neighbor?

• Christians, how can we claim to be followers of God if we fail to forgive those who have done us wrong?

• Christians, how can we claim to be children of the King if we discriminate against people who look or sound or behave differently than us?

To make his point, James relates a story about a poor man and a rich man coming to church (“your meeting” 2:2). The rich man was given a seat of honor; the poor man was treated with contempt. Some theologians believe that this wasn’t just a random illustration but actually something that had happened, at least once, maybe more. Evidently, lack of mercy within the church has been a problem since its very inception.   

It’s kind of hard for most of us to imagine this in our churches. After all, we would like to think that we are above this kind of discrimination today. But I’m not sure we are.

Years ago, we had friends who had a disabled daughter. They told us about their experience in looking for a new church. They would slip into the back of the church a little while before the start of service, and they would stand their daughter in one spot while they stood some distance off to the side. They wanted to see how many people would not only greet them but would greet their daughter as well. Many times, it seemed that she was invisible to everyone but her parents.

Mercy.

How can we can show mercy in our everyday lives?

It begins by treating everyone—everyone—with love, dignity, and respect. I am reminded of a little formula that I learned when my boys were young (sung to the tune of “Jingle Bells”).

J-O-Y, J-O-Y

This must surely mean

Jesus first, Yourself last

And others in between

I think that about sums it up. If we follow the advice of that simple children’s Bible song, then, we will really understand what it means to have mercy.

This Week 

• Work on memorizing James 1:22. Practice saying your verse to someone else. Ask him/her to check you.

• Read James 2:1-13 every day.

• Ask God to show you areas of your life where you may be prone to discrimination or people to whom you have been unwilling to grant forgiveness/mercy. Ask God to forgive you of those attitudes, and, if needed, seek forgiveness from others you may have hurt.