Justice or Mercy? : One Year Bible Reading for August 16

 Today we read from these verses in the One Year Bible:

Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
1 Corinthians 10:14-33
Psalm 34:11-22

Proverbs 21:14-16 

Let's look at the Proverb. It says that justice brings joy to the righteous and terror to evildoers. And that's true. So should we always want justice?

Well, justice can be a little cold. Justice says that if you accidentally kill my cat, then your cat should die. If you put out my eye, then I should put out yours. It is pretty harsh.

That's why Jesus took us to the next level. He said that rather than strict justice, we should pursue love - and mercy. That we should forgive. That if someone smacks us on one cheek, instead of insisting on justice and smacking them back, we should turn our other cheek. 

Let's remember mercy when we look for justice - even in our prayers.

God, thanks for reminding us that justice is better than injustice - but mercy is better than strict justice.