Day 3-Mercy vs. Sacrifice

My Prayer:
Psalm 16:8 (New International Version)
I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.



The Reading: Matthew 7-9
Matthew 9:10-13 (New International Version)

10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."


My Thoughts: First, the difference in mercy and sacrifice...
Mercy: Compassionate treatment, especially of those under one's power; clemency.
A disposition to be kind and forgiving: a heart full of mercy.
Something for which to be thankful; a blessing: It was a mercy that no one was hurt.
Alleviation of distress; relief: Taking in the refugees was an act of mercy.
Sacrifice: The act of offering something to a deity in propitiation or homage, especially the ritual slaughter of an animal or a person.
A victim offered in this way.
Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

I think mercy may be more difficult than sacrifice. The Pharisees probably understood this, too. Sacrifice is like making the check mark in the book...doesn't really matter why you do it, just do it because that's the rule...and it has victims. I can understand why Jesus didn't want victims. As a person who has said more than once that I lack the gift of mercy, I also understand why this has to be stated and it has to be a calling. It's hard to love some people...like me, but it's also the quality that the world looks for in a Christian...and marks when it's missing. It's one of those ways that the world knows that we're different. I definitely need to practice it more.