Treason in Reverse, An Unwanted Expectation and a Foolish Delusion

While pride is the principle issue separating the heart of man from God's offer of mercy, there are others. For example, to seek mercy from one against whom we have committed treason is a kind of reverse treason. Like the boy who joins a street gang, accepts their rites-of-passage and then changes his mind. In seeking mercy from God we abandon Satan's illegitimate offer to be part of a gang of gods. Thus, having given our allegiance and performed our rites-of-passage to the world, the flesh and the devil, to trust Christ makes us traitors to the false kingdom which claims our souls. Bunyan described this masterfully in The Holy War.

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Still another reason lies in a logical but unwanted expectation. That is, the tension between being a mercy receiver and becoming a mercy giver. This tension is manifest in movements which pride themselves on merciless rioting, pillaging and killing. Less headline-grabbing are the dark stories of years of vengeful silence against a former loved-one. Deep (and often not so deep) in the human heart is a lust to treat others without mercy. The matter was so serious it called for a very pointed parable about a man who received forgiveness for a debt he could never pay but refused to show mercy to someone for a lesser debt to him.  

Then there is the self-delusion that the need for mercy can be replaced by a promise to do better. This relates to the pride issue (as do all, I suppose) but with a twist. I often wonder what would have happened had the people of Israel, at Sinai, fallen to their knees and begged for mercy when they heard the absolute demands of holiness, obedience and justice against sins. God gave them opportunities, but they responded with naïve promises that they had it all sorted out and could handle the assignment. 

We would do well to take inventory of the full-blown or seditious remnants of mercilessness in our hearts which betray the presence of a deadly resistance to God's mercy. 

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