A Consequence Of Mercy

Persistently showing mercy in a world full of irrationalistic people will almost inevitably mean that other people will, out of blind irrationality or negligence, try to keep getting away with as much as you will forgive them for.  If they are given one second chance after another, they will abuse it.  This is not because mercy is wrong.  The motivations behind it can be, but mercy is not made legitimate or illegitimate, though it is made gratuitous, because of the usual outcomes.  Mercy is seemingly often accepted for purely self-serving reasons.

This no different except in the source of the mercy from when certain evangelicals think that they can just sin purposefully and repeatedly and still land in God's mercy.  As with God, they will take advantage as much as they can of the supererogatory kindness showed to them by merciful people.  As long as someone does not assume that mercy will provoke repentance or think that it is obligatory, they can still extend it knowing that it will in many instances be disregarded beyond its initial convenience to them.

Such people are like the pigs Jesus warned against throwing pearls to (Matthew 7:6).  Given the chance, they will attack you if you try to help them.  One can still show mercy and mourn for them without believing the delusion that mercy can only be responded to rightly, but the fact remains that the likely consequence of mercy is that the irrational and unrighteous will only persist in their nonsense.  They will very probably still make assumptions; they will still be hypocrites and emotionalists.

Show mercy as much as you are willing anyway.  As for me, my own turn towards mercy on the level of attitude--my worldview did not need to change--was not because I suddenly assumed that it is going to always result in positive change on the part of the recipient.  I certainly did not start believing that mercy could be anything more than a good thing that can never be deserved.  It was a change I embraced out of a personal desire to provide another chance regardless: out of hope rather than folly or utilitarianism.