Do Yourself A Favor
Proverbs 11:17 NKJV
The merciful man does good for his own soul,
But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
The eleventh proverb has a lot to say about the righteous, those in right standing with God. For the most part, the context is the actions of the righteous. As those of us who have received Christ, we also received His righteousness. So we are not trying to be righteous; we already are, and now we live out what we have become.
Our verse for today is not related to righteousness per se but points out a characteristic of a person who is in line with God. A merciful person. The word in Hebrew denotes kindness, loving kindness, goodness, mercy, faithfulness, love, and acts of kindness. This is a word often attributed to God. In Psalm 136, the word "mercy" is used 26 times to describe God. He is good, and His mercy endures forever. So a merciful person is going to be a good representative of Christ and the Heavenly Father.
There is another benefit to being merciful. You do good to your own soul. We could say that when you are merciful, you help yourself. Being merciful, kind, loving, and good is good for your heart, your inner man. I don't think we will ever go wrong imitating our Heavenly Father. Paul encouraged the Ephesian church to do exactly that, to be imitators of God as dear children.
Another benefit of being merciful is that we reap what we sow. Sow mercy and reap mercy. And we all need mercy. Only the guilty need mercy. It's too easy to be harsh and judgmental until we or someone we love messes up. Then we recognize the need for mercy. And mercy is a great deal easier to receive if we have been in the practice of giving mercy to others.
The person who is cruel troubles his own flesh; his own life. The word 'cruel' is often used in contrast with the merciful person. So this would be the person who is acting unkind, harsh, and unloving. When we use the word cruel today, we correctly think of someone who hurts puppies and kittens. But it also means someone who willfully causes pain or distress to others. If we stop and think about it, how many of the unkind, harsh, pain-causing people do we know who are happy and live a peaceful life? Things just don't work that way. The Lord, who made us, knows what is best for us.
Be good to yourself by being merciful with others