Ephesians 4: 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
After being thus indoctrinated with justice, it could become quite difficult to appreciate, or implement the concept of mercy, because by imbibing so much justice, mercy seems like a foreign principle to folks, and then inevitably the natural default setting in the mind is one of justice, whenever someone does us wrong.
Thus, strict justice becomes second nature, while a disposition to show mercy is relegated to being an afterthought. But in God’s kingdom, the default setting is mercy, and as such He desires that we think and act along that specific mode of thought. In the ancient sanctuary system the Mercy seat was strategically and intentionally positioned above the justice that the law calls for, and were it not for this perspective, none of us judges would be alive today.
But when we go to school in the university of the movies, to be infiltrated with such concepts that are foreign to God’s kingdom, it could become very difficult to forgive, because the reflex action when wrong is done to us is to get even. And thus, the decisions along those lines often follow as clockwork. But this mode of thought is contrary to the kingdom of Christ.
Matthew 5: 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there you remember that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!