Mercy triumphs over judgement

This morning I read this verse:

"Mercy triumphs over judgement."

It's found in the book of James, chapter 2, verse 13.

My roommate and I sat and discussed what it possibly might mean.  We came to a conclusion that identifying with a person and attempting to empathize and understand him or her wins out over distancing yourself from a person and creating a stark line between the two of you.  

The verse comes in the context of James teaching that "believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ" should not show favoritism.  Specifically, James mentions, in the issue of wealth.  He paints a scenario for his Christian readers to better understand: 

"Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.  If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" (verses 3-4)

James goes on to point out that there are rich people who exploit Christians, take them to court, and slander the name of their Lord.  James points out the Christians' misunderstanding that wealth equals superiority.  He reminds the Christians that "If you keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right."  But judging a person by their wealth alone does not correlate with loving one's neighbor as one's self. 

The entirety of verse 13 reads "because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.  Mercy triumphs over judgement!"

In the midst of struggling with superiority, James here points out that mercy is superior to judgement.  And so, Christians should not judge a person by their financial state, but rather show mercy to all people - identify with them, empathize with them, attempt to understand them - and in doing this, you will simultaneously be "loving your neighbor as yourself," because we all desire to me understood rather than prematurely judged.

It's interesting that James claims that mercy triumphs over judgement, yet in the prior sentence he states that judgement without mercy will triumph over those who do not show mercy.  Isn't this a case of judgement triumphing over mercy?  

Perhaps James is trying to say that, for humans, mercy is better than judgement, because God alone can judge peoples' hearts and souls.  As far as our human relationships are concerned, it is always superior to show mercy rather than judgement on our fellow humans, because we are limited and do not see through to each person's heart and soul.  In fact, the only thing we can be completely 100% sure about is what we see on the outside of a person: their flesh and their clothes.  

It seems James is stressing that we should seek to understand each other out of love and through mercy by entering into relationships with each other where we can grow to see a person's heart and soul rather than distancing ourselves from one another as if we have each other all figured out.  

God sees to the core of our very hearts and souls.  But we, on the other hand, cannot automatically see into a person's heart and soul.  That is the discovery of life.  That is what gives meaning to our existence here: learning to love and understand another person as he or she opens his or her heart and soul to you.  As we grant mercy and seek understanding, we find ourselves opening up our hearts and souls to one another, and as we do this we are able to see each other's fragile core, in such desperate need of mercy, care, tenderness, and protection - so that some part of it can be saved as pure, precious, and pouring over with life.  A Jewish proverb claims that the heart "is the wellspring of life" and it should therefore be guarded "above all else."  It sound like showing mercy to one another triumphs judgement because it guards our hearts by keeping them unbroken and therefore full, streaming with life.

A boring post.

I apologize in advance that my posting has not been as consistent as I said it would be.  Here it is halfway through June and I didn't even write for May...  But better late than never, sometimes... right?

The most recent update: things are going very well for me here.

The month of May was full of finishing up study skills with my students, taking final exams, finishing research projects, and traveling home to California to see family and friends.

One rather big update that you don't know about my life is that I have decided to sell my Mazda3 in order to buy a cheaper car and not have a car payment when I graduate!  I drove Vikki home in May and left her there for my parents to sell (since it's a CA title and technically in their name) and flew back here to OK.  I bought a bike from an international friend who flew back to France at the end of last semester, so that's currently how I'm making my way back and forth to work and around town.  My legs were KILLING me the first week (I couldn't fall asleep at night the first few nights, and I felt like my quads were HUGE) and my butt was pretty sore all the time, but now it's all good and I'm enjoying the commute a lot.

A blessing I received at the beginning of June was a generous offer from the Kopke's to buy their old Camry for $500.  It's a 1996 blue Camry with an RBHS parking sticker on it... but the AC works and it runs smooth, so it sounds great to me!  Plus... no car payment!  

Also, things changed at my work.  They informed me after the first week of June that, due to budget cuts, the study skills program had been trimmed down to freshmen only, and since Candice is a GA, she will be teaching it (she has been teaching sophomore study skills).  At first, this news was hard to handle because I felt it was a nice way of the department easing me into unemployment.  My supervisor assured me that they were going to find work for me to do to keep me on staff (because there's been a hiring freeze, so they want me to do any jobs that might come up).  At first I was worried that I wouldn't have much to do and they would have to let me go, but in reality the exact opposite has happened.  One of my coworkers has been on vacation for the past two weeks, so I have been doing her job (coordinating subject tutoring).  Also, I've been administering a reading assessment to incoming freshmen, which has been an interesting learning experience (and resume booster) but also exhausting.  

It's interesting to walk into the office every day to find myself doing another job.  I have been assigned to tutor a female sophomore student in study skills twice a week one-on-one, and I have also been assigned to be a note-taker for a class no one else is available for.  This next week I will be doing another coworker's job while she is on vacation (she is the coordinator for the writing center).  The experience has taught me an important skill to have in a workplace: flexibility.  

I'm enjoying my class, I think primarily because I'm only taking one, rather than three.  We meet three times a week for four hours each class session, but the material we cover is so interesting that the time goes really quickly.  And I've actually been keeping up with the reading!  Which makes me feel like a more responsible student.  The class is about media and pop culture - how to teach students to be critical viewers of the media, as well as teaching them how to use media to their advantage.  We also talk about how to use pop culture to teach basic reading and writing skills to our students - the theory being using material they are interested in, because studies show students learn much more when they are engaged with the material.  I'm learning a lot and loving the decision to take the class this summer.

Also, my friends and I have decided to become better cooks this summer.  Candice and I have been making a lot of our own sauces, dishes, and desserts.  We've had a dinner party every Friday night this summer.  Marisa, my roommate, has decided that Friday is officially pie day, and we are going to make a different pie every Friday, document the experience with pictures, and then blog about the experience.  We're hoping to develop a following...

Also, as a side note, I moved in May.  I'm now living off-campus, about 2 miles north-west of OU, in a house with one other graduate student.  The house is quaint and newly remodeled, so it is very comfortable.  I have my own bedroom, AC, a washer and dryer in the house, and a dishwasher.  It's worth the extra $60-$100 dollars a month.  We're also looking for 1-2 more roommates, and have two promising prospects.  We're hoping to have a friend move in with a dog, and another girl move in who is interested in growing  a vegetable garden.  Yes, please!

Anyways, this post is pretty boring, but I wanted to update you all on the fact that life is going well and I am very thankful and happy to be here.  I'm sorry for not calling you all more often, but I'm going to try to get on that soon!  Love and miss you, thank you for your friendship and love.