It’s good to show mercy so
that mercy can be shown on to you.
“……the
quality of mercy is not strained.it doppeth as the gentle ain from Heaven.Upon
the place beneath it.it is twice blessed.it blesseth him that gives and him
that takes….................”
So goes the immortal words of
Portia in William Shakespeare acclaimed ‘Merchant of Venice’. In the play
Shylock, one of the characters, is asked to show mercy to the Merchant of
Venice who owes him money, but refuses. But when the tables are turned on him
he becomes the one begging for mercy – a plea that is rejected.
The phrase ‘the quality of
mercy is not strained’ is used to reinforce the believe that mercy must be
given freely – it can’t be forced.
Being merciful covers a wide
range of things from forgiving; showing kindness and compassion to helping
others less fortunate and is the component of all religious beliefs.
We live in a country where
few are merciful; we have the power to forgive and forget but won’t! we want to
show that we have ‘power’ over somebody! We want to punish them to the fullest.
We want to play God with their lives because we can. And what happens when it
all backfires on us? Like a house of cards your entire life will come tumbling
down!
Why is it so difficult to be
merciful towards your fellow human being? What could they possibly have done
that you can’t forgive them or show them mercy? But yet again you pray to God(
- or Allah!) for mercy and forgiveness for all the things you’ve done wrong –
isn’t that called ‘double-standards’?
It’s good to be merciful as
God is merciful towards us for all our sins and transgressions because when the
shoe is on the other foot…….
Look at how colonel Gadhafi
died; when he was president of Libya he showed no mercy and killed thousands of
people. When he was disposed and apprehended by his people they showed him no
mercy and literally beat him to death!
In our everyday people wrong
us; they do terrible things to us, they make our lives hell because they can.
They show us no mercy, but what happens when the tables are turned?
For those who are in the
position of showing mercy, show it and let bygones be bygones. Don’t think
because you’re Mister-High-and-Mighty and you can do whatever you want, you can
deny somebody mercy.
Some people think they are
too ‘big’ to show mercy; they hold a person’s life – and perhaps destiny – in
their hands and they think they can do as they please. Perhaps. But what happens
when the tables are turned?
Life can sometimes be a
terrible teacher; because you failed to show mercy to someone a long time ago
it’ll come back and haunt you when you need mercy or help the most. Only then
it’ll be too late like it was for Shylock and Gadhafi and many others.
The Lord God ( or Allah!)
shows everybody mercy regardless of whatever we’ve done in this earthly world
and so why can’t you? If mercy is due give it; the sun shines on the righteous
and the bad; rain falls on the good and the evil , God gives everyone a fair
chance.
So when someone begs you for
mercy, think twice! You never know when you will need mercy yourself!
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