Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
“The vital bearing of the principle covered in this Beatitude lies in its application to the realm of thought. The thing that really matters is that you be merciful in your thought. Kind actions coupled with unkind thoughts are hypocrisy, dictated by fear, or desire for self glory, or some such motive. These are counterfeits and they bless neither the giver nor the recipient. On the other hand, the true thought about fellow man blesses him spiritually, mentally, and materially; and blesses you too.” —Emmet Fox
To be merciful is to adopt a compassionate attitude toward the people in your life. Jesus illustrated this with his parable of the good Samaritan who, despite cultural and historical differences, went out of his way to help a man victimized by robbers. Those who taught compassion, a priest and a Levite, looked the other way as they passed the wounded man.
It is interesting to observe how a national crisis can cause people to rise above political, racial and cultural differences. These differences live in our heads. When the heart opens and the soul steps forward, the lines between people dissolve. We do not care what the person thinks or believes, or whether or not they think fondly of us. When we can we rush in to help with unconditional aid.
The suggestion I pick up from Jesus’ beatitude is this: See, think and live from your soul. At the soul level we are merciful, compassionate, because we are whole and free, with no need to take from another, no need to change others to make ourselves happy, no need to be moved by what others say or do. He is suggesting that we move into the arena of our being that knows no fear, self-doubt, and has no need to run the world according to our understanding.
Practice seeing every person that enters your life as a gift from God. All have something to give and you have something to give all. This attitude opens your mind to a point beyond labels, a point Jesus called merciful.