The Art of Merciful Firmness

The world tells you to be harsh. The Bible tells you to be merciful. Which do you follow?

I wrestled with this for some time. I'm a middle manager in a corporate environment and am sometimes faced with the situation of: Do I be merciful or do I be hard on this person? 

Mercy appealed to me because I am a person of faith, but I knew it wouldn't resolve the problem I was facing, and I wrestled with it, because the good of our team and our mission demanded a resolution.

Somehow, the Lord guided me to figure out a way to be "mercifully firm." More than fair, supportive, firm in expectation, firm in the principle of accountability, but not harsh and not unkind.

The result? It worked. The person validated the approach and even came to the realization on their own that I had done more than enough to support them, and that they needed to do their part. 

I can't take any credit for that because truly the Holy Spirit led. The Spirit showed me what to do after many months of confusion, frustration, wrestling with what to do, and prayer.

It got me thinking about our relationship with God the Father. Isn't our relationship like that? God supports us. He cares for us. He nurtures us. He leads us. He does His part, but His expectations are firm. They don't change. He holds us accountable. The mission of His Kingdom demands it. He's got a vision that we need to aiign with -- whether we like it or not.

We must do our part.

He's leader and we're follower...He shows us the way.