Acting with Mercy and Truth

 It is very easy for us to be kind and thoughtful to those whom we like and those who do the things with which we agree. On the other hand, it is very difficult for most of us to treat those who are against us with the same kindness. This is because of our human nature, our flesh. Our flesh wants to get revenge. It wants to punish those who have gone against us and our values. However, God doesn't do things that way. He can even be very merciful to those He has to punish for their sins.

Isaiah delivered a clear prophecy to the leaders and people of Moab. They were known for their pride and arrogance, as well as their worship of all kinds of idols. God brought punishment upon them for these things, then He gave them some good news. (Isaiah 16:5) He promised that God would make one of David's descendants king over Moab. That king would rule with mercy and truth. He would always do what is just and be eager to do what is right. That is the way we should treat all people.

There is no doubt that our God is a God of mercy. Rarely does He punish us as much as we deserve to be punished. He treats us with compassion even when He has to punish us. In fact, it breaks His heart to have to punish us most of the time. He always deals with us according to the truth. He doesn't base His decisions on hearsay or falsehoods. When the God of Truth acts, we know it is based on the truth for that situation. We should all strive to act in mercy and truth in all of our dealings with others, too.

God always does what is just, and He is always eager to do what is right. That is what we need our leaders to do, and it is what we should do all of the time. As I have said, justice is precious to God. He doesn't ever treat anyone unjustly, and He doesn't want us to do that either. He desires for all of us to be eager to do what is right for everyone, not just the people whom we like and with whom we agree. Let's set this standard for our lives all of the time, so we can be like Jesus in all we do.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 18-20.