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I RECENTLY heard someone give a definition of the true meaning of mercy and I must say I found it very interesting. To be honest I had not given it much thought prior to this.
He said – “Mercy is sending a loving reaction to any given human situation”.
What a very powerful definition this is. Very powerful yet if one is to be honest it is laced with extreme difficulty.
Why extreme difficulty? The answer is very simple.
I think it would be fair to say that the world we live in today is surrounded by so much corruption, self-interest and downright evil yet we are being asked to react to that with mercy. Here definitely lies the difficulty !!
How do we send love in such situations.
This has been the subject of many literary writers and song writers down the years. A song that particularly comes to mind is ‘Where is the Love’ by a band called The Black Eyed Peas
People killin’ people dyin’
Children hurtin’, I hear them cryin’
Can you practice what you preachin’?
Would you turn the other cheek again?
Mama, mama, mama, tell us what the hell is goin’ on
Can’t we all just get along?
Father, father, father help us
Send some guidance from above
‘Cause people got me, got me
Questioning
(Where’s the love)
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you’re bound to get irate
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that’s exactly how hate works and operates
Man, we gotta set it straight
Take control of your mind and just meditate
And let your soul just gravitate
To the love, so the whole world celebrate it
Basically what the band are saying here is that somehow we have to find it within ourselves to have a loving response to life’s difficulties and inequalities. A loving response makes us feel good and this in turn enables us to spread the love.
Learn to Meditate!
Yes there may be times when hatred is the easier option but wisdom will tell us that hatred will never overcome hatred. Only Love can overcome hatred.
This is why ‘Mercy’ i.e. A loving response is so vital if we are all to live together. Hatred can be the easy option while Loving is Hard. However Love Reigns Supreme.
As the song says – ‘Man, we gotta set it straight’
Next week I am going to write about — What is Divine Mercy?.
Awesome!!