Justice or Mercy?

Hands down, the best book I’ve listened to in a long time is Allen Levi’s “Theo of Golden.”  Think of it as “The Giver” meets “Forrest Gump” meets “Ted Lasso.” If you haven’t read it or listened to it, it’s definitely worth your time.

Without giving any storylines or spoilers away, Theo is an 86-year-old man who buys portraits of strangers, residents of a town called Golden, Georgia, only to return them to the subject of the portrait.  The whole point is for Theo to hear people’s stories.  To listen long and ask good questions.  To hear the joy and sadness that unites us all.  And to admit that sorrow and loss and grief are part of life.  And ultimately, to experience hope along the way.  In one particularly moving scene Theo says these words:  

There’s justice and there’s mercy. If you not sure what to do and you gotta choose one or the other, I say always go the mercy way. If you make a mistake, make it for mercy. Bad mercy don’t hurt nearly like bad justice.

There’s a lot of truth in those words, don’t you think?  What Theo is really getting at is the power of forgiveness and choice each of us has to offer or withhold it.  Makes me think of the finale of season one of Ted Lasso when Rebeccah confesses all of the horrible and deplorable things she’s done to Ted and he gets up from his chair, looks her in the eye and says, “I forgive you.”  That’s the mercy way.

We live in a beautiful, broken, complicated community.  Relationships and friendships can easily be strained and hurt.  The toxic allure of gossip cuts to the very heart.  And surface niceties are just that – surface niceties. Social snubs are felt on the playground, in the pickup line, at birthday parties and at the club.

But I wonder what it would be like if we considered going the mercy way?  If we leaned into the power and freedom of forgiveness?  If we went out of our way to seek reconciliation?  Now that doesn’t mean that healthy boundaries can’t be maintained, or that we simply dismiss the past.  But I do wonder how many times we have the opportunity to choose mercy over justice?  

Jesus talked a lot about mercy.  He encouraged his followers to forgive as he did – people who didn’t ask for it, people who definitely didn’t deserve it, and people who didn’t even want to be forgiven. Yet, Jesus always chose the mercy way.

My guess is that we all know the power resentment, bitterness and grudge holding have on our emotional and mental health.  Sadly, when we choose justice over mercy, far too often we are the ones who suffer the most.    

No doubt, these are complicated topics where there are often more gray than simple black and white answers.

And it’s okay that relationships do change over seasons of life.  The reality is that every last one of us has some relationship or experience in this village where mercy is needed.  I invite you to reflect on the people and experiences in your life where you have the choice to go justice or mercy. I hope you’ll go the mercy way.