I was walking along the street with a friend of mine many years ago when we came across a young man being tormented by a group of teenage boys. He was being pushed around and urged on to fight. My immediate inclination was to avoid any conflict and get out of there because the situation looked dangerous and we were only a little older than the teenage boys ourselves, but my friend knew the young man being tormented and couldn’t walk away. He walked right into the middle of the gang, took the young man by the shoulder, spoke his name calmly and said "Come on mate, let’s go". He did it with so much authority that the gang of teenagers just stood there and let him take his friend out of harms way. That was showing mercy. No holding back from helping someone, no matter what the cost.
Matthew 5:7 goes right against the grain at times, but I can see God’s point. My way doesn’t accomplish much. Sometimes I even get satisfaction at seeing some people suffer because in my arrogance, I think they deserve it, because somehow my opinion is the only one worth listening to. But God always seems to try to find a way to help that person that I have wiped off as a "deserving no mercy" case. Help me to see others through the eyes of the Cross, Lord.