Do you remember the teeter-totter? Of course you do! While it may not be as common today, the teeter-totter has been a staple on playgrounds for generations. The entire experience is designed to be up and down in an endless repeating fashion. Of course, that is not sufficient for many children, and so it quickly turns into a game of trying to launch the other person off their seat (ask me how I know this, and my answer is probably the reason the teeter-totter has fallen somewhat out of fashion)!
This visual came to mind this week as I was grappling with the realization that I am frequently uncomfortable with mercy. This includes both when mercy is granted to others and when it is granted to me. When another who is deserving of punishment is instead granted reprieve, I very easily react with shock and an expression of worry that it will incentivize more of whatever action had triggered the need for mercy in the first place. But maybe more surprising, I realize I am also uncomfortable when mercy is granted to me. When I know I am in the wrong but am shown mercy and relieved of bearing the consequence of that wrong, it often makes me uncomfortable.
Why is that? And do you ever feel something similar?
I am convinced it is caused by the teeter-totter nature of our finite minds’ attempt to balance the tension between justice (which can show up as legalism) and mercy (which can show up as permissiveness).
Legalism is uncomfortable with mercy, and I personally know the allure of this pull. But at the same time, when I try to guard against legalism, I can quickly get overly permissive of sin (both in my own life and in the lives of others). It is a constant tension which, if not stewarded well, leads to a veritable teeter-totter of the mind and spirit. Up and down, up and down, always trying to find the elusive balance point.
The truth is that justice and mercy are not meant to act as a teeter-totter. God did not design us to embody both principles in a fashion that requires one to ebb while the other flows. To the contrary, He designed—and Jesus lived out—a tension between justice and mercy in order that they would both advance together.
This embodiment is articulated in Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
You are to act justly, and in doing so you might feel uncomfortable with mercy.
You are to love mercy, and in doing so you might be tempted to abandon the pursuit of justice.
It’s both/and. But it’s not a teeter-totter where the demonstration of one requires the acquiescence of the other. True mercy is accentuated by true justice, and true justice is even more impactful with it is accompanied by true mercy. It is a constant tension, but a beautiful one.
It may be an uncomfortable mercy. It may be an uncomfortable justice. But the two are meant to rise as one!