Merciful

Today mercy is used mostly in a religious or legal context. We throw ourselves on the mercy of God or the mercy of the court. In both cases, the implication is we are being judged and asking for a generous decision.

To be merciful is most often understood as forgiving and, perhaps, especially to extend a kind of undeserved forgiveness.

This kind of mercy is discussed by Jesus and others in the Bible, but this is probably not the mercy that Jesus refers to in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is almost certainly discussing the Hebrew רחם or racham, which is much closer to the English for empathize, or identify-with, or deeply-know, or even love.

Racham is the concept of mercy most often used in Isaiah and which is most coherent with the prophet’s focus on justice, righteousness, and peace. In Isaiah 49:15 we read, “Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have mercy on the son of her womb.” This use of racham is sometimes translated as compassion or love. There is such a deep sense of common identity that the other is treated as the self.

This profound sense of empathy produces a kind of understanding that may seem generous to those outside the relationship. But for the truly merciful they are not being generous, they are being just. Through their shared identity with and understanding of the other they are able to make a judgment that is entirely appropriate for the context.

The ability to authentically empathize is considered a key factor in emotional intelligence. Warren Bennis, in his classic study of corporate leadership, identifies empathy as a critical skill in getting people on your side. He quotes former Lucky Stores CEO Don Ritchey to make the point, “I think one of the biggest turn-ons is for people to know that their peers and particularly their bosses not only know they’re there but know pretty intimately what they’re doing and are involved with them on an almost daily basis, that it’s a partnership, that you’re really trying to run this thing well together, that if something goes wrong our goal is to fix it, not see who we can nail.” (On Becoming a Leader, page 147)

Humility and empathy are complementary conditions. One of the most counter-productive attributes of leadership is misplaced empathy, or what psychologists would call projection. In this situation, rather than perceiving what the other feels, we project on the other what we feel. This is as a big a turn-off as real empathy is a turn-on.

Outside our organizations a keen sense of empathy can be a great competitive advantage in marketing. An authentic empathy may be the best differentiator between sales and marketing. The salesman wants you to buy something regardless of your needs. A marketing effort is – or should be – focused on responding to authentic needs.

For Jesus being merciful is coming to know and understand others as well as you know and understand yourself. In such a relationship you will naturally honor the authentic character and value of the other. In so honoring the other you will act justly. In this way both justice and righteousness are achieved.

Originally the English word mercy was much more coherent with the teaching of Jesus. The word is derived from the Latin word, merces, which means the price of goods or wages. In exchanging fair value for fair value we are behaving in accord with the original meaning of mercy.