erring on the side of mercy

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Luke 16 The Message (MSG) The Story of the Crooked Manager
 1-2 Jesus said to his disciples, “There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running up huge personal expenses. So he called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You’re fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.’
 3-4 “The manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do? I’ve lost my job as manager. I’m not strong enough for a laboring job, and I’m too proud to beg. . . . Ah, I’ve got a plan. Here’s what I’ll do . . . then when I’m turned out into the street, people will take me into their houses.’
 5 “Then he went at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 “He replied, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ “The manager said, ‘Here, take your bill, sit down here—quick now—write fifty.’ 7 “To the next he said, ‘And you, what do you owe?’ “He answered, ‘A hundred sacks of wheat.’ “He said, ‘Take your bill, write in eighty.’
 8-9 “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.”

If you are a christian who thinks you have all your shit together, you don't. And since we don't, why try to hold people to our high standards when we make plenty of exceptions for ourselves? If we are in need of mercy, not just from God, but from our friends, our co-workers, the people we accidentally cut off in traffic, those who don't get the privileges of the system that we do for whatever part of intersectionality we walk, then why not be extremely generous with mercy with others? And not just with the guy who scratched your car in the parking lot and didn't leave a note.

Jesus made a similar point.

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” Luke 6: 37-38

I read two articles this morning that made me wish christians would be more generous.

1. Child with autism denied communion at church in New Jersey
2. Experience: I was a gay-conversion therapist

Lord have mercy. May all of us understand mercy like the recovering ex-gay counselor. "My faith in God is just as strong, if not stronger, than it has ever been. I never believed that God was as harsh as everyone was telling me he was. I want to help the church to love and accept people, regardless of their sexuality, and to play a large part in ending conversion therapy."