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.