Lord have Mercy

That is an exclamation, usually heard in the south, when something outlandish is seen or heard.  Yet when it comes to the face to face meeting each person will have with God almighty, “have mercy” is the only thing we can beg for during that judgement.  People are all about justice these days and Social Justice is all the rage in the inner city and pulpits.  People understand rightly that justice means getting what is deserved under the law.  When a thief is caught and tried and placed in prison, we say justice was done because this malefactor got what he deserved under the law.  There is also the positive of righteous justice.  The Bible speaks of taking care of the widows and orphans and that feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and helping the homeless is an act of righteous justice.

Over use of the term justice, however, can corrupt is meaning.  In some circles, people elevate their wants and desires to the place of justice.  So lower taxes, wider streets, a traffic signal, cheaper rent and other things are all called social justice.  These items of social justice are demanded from the city and county and other political forces.  They are demanded under the guise of righteous judgement.  This type of demand for justice elevates the request to the level of prideful hubris where people can now demand anything from nice cars to large homes, all under the umbrella of social justice.  The Bible speaks of meeting the survival needs of the vulnerable, not fulfilling their passions.

So when it comes right down to our relationship with God, no one will stand before him on that judgement day and demand a nicer car or bigger house.  On that day, cries of mercy will be heard from all people because when people’s sin is uncovered by a holy and perfectly righteous God, true justice will be dispensed.  Those who defamed God with prosperity teaching and those who defamed church by preaching false justice, true justice of eternity in the lake of fire will be given because it is all that is deserved under God’s perfect law.

Demanding justice from God is a dangerous stance because no one keeps God’s law.  All we can say, all we should say, all that matters is God’s mercy through the blood of Jesus Christ.  If we do not get God’s mercy, we are lost for all eternity.  As I have written before, demands for justice come from a place of pride and God opposes and knocks down the proud.  Pleas for mercy come from a humble heart and God lifts up the humble.

Some of the first hymns of the early church we hymns repeating the phrase Kyrie Eleison.   God have mercy, Christ have mercy, God have mercy on us.