"'Mercy and Sacrifice" 

Hoses 6:6 "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

Poignant verse. Old Testament too, take note. We are not inclined towards mercy. We live in a "get even" culture and "get ahead" too, seemingly at any expense or anyone's expense for that matter. I have a little story by Nikki Giovanni shared with me by Keith Rankin that will make you think about mercy, at least maybe rethink mercy. 

Mercy

She asks me to kill the spider.
Instead, l get the most peaceful weapons l can find.
I take a cup and a napkin.
I catch the spider, put it outside and allow it to walk away.
If l am ever caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time, just being alive and not bothering anyone,
I hope I am greeted with the same kind of mercy.

Ok ok... l get it... spider crawls on you or a kid it probably dies. But, many a daddy long legs have been rescued by me and l feel good about it. I get it... black widows, brown recluses, and spider bites get a different response. But, how often we rush from no mercy to final judgment. Not only with insects either. I am also not saying that my kids someday should get me a cup and napkin and put me outside. Although a quiet ice floe sounds inviting on some days.

What l am saying is that we too often sacrifice too many things when a little mercy is needed. After all, l received a lot of mercy, didn't you? Knowing God means asking Him if there is another way. My wife recently left us a note on the kitchen counter that basically said "if you see ants, kill them." I get it, the ants really do torture the best kitchen cleaning person.  But, I amended the note to say "Run for your lives, trust me, she will kill all of you." I have not seen the ants much. I think they respect me.  But, they were warned.

So today, how about a little more mercy, with God's creation, and especially those He came and died for.... that includes me and you,
Pastor Fred