“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly... he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Ro 12:6, 8).

The true and certain, regular and ordinary, main Biblical meaning, sense, or use of the word is to have heartfelt compassion on someone in need. For example, in the Greek, “mercy” (Ro 12:8) here primarily means to compassionately help the afflicted, whether to give help to the one asking for it or to bring help to the one who needs it. For example, the story of the good Samaritan (Lk 10:33). [Perhaps it should be called the story of the compassionate Samaritan or the story of the compassionate regular Joe.]

Look at the specific parts of the story which defines mercy as compassion. “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and...” (Lk 10:33, 34). “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he [a lawyer] said, “The one who showed mercy toward him” (Lk 10:36, 37). And so we see that the compassionate feelings and actions of the Samaritan man toward the one injured was characterized and described as “mercy” by a lawyer of Moses’ Law.

Every Christian ought to be cheerful in the use of his gift, but it is especially fitting for those with the gift of mercy. As Paul said, in order to properly use the gift of mercy it must be used with cheerfulness: “exercise them accordingly [i.e. gifts]... he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Ro 12:6, 8). In the Greek, “cheerfulness” here means readiness of mind, promptness, or willingness. So, to show mercy with cheerfulness means to be ready and willing to compassionately help a needy person, just like the compassionate Samaritan did. [Now to clear up some confusion, some translations say, in different places, “be of good cheer” (Ac 27:25 KJV, meaning be of good courage. It is a different Greek word than the one Paul used for “cheerfulness” in regards to using the gift of mercy.]

Jesus showed mercy with cheerfulness, with readiness. For example, when asked for mercy, He readily offered it, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed” (Mt 8:3). And, “I will come and heal him” (Mt 8:7). And, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed” (Mk 1:40, 41). As Jesus said about the gifts that He gave to His disciples: “Freely you received, freely give” (Mt 10:8). That verse sums up what it means to be a cheerful giver. No matter what gift you have received from God, freely, willingly, and promptly use it to help those who truly need it.

A valuable religion includes the gift of mercy. For example, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (Ja 1:26, 27).

The subject of this passage is religion, the Christian religion, specifically the three big differences between a Christian who has a “worthless” religion, which is impure and defiled, and a Christian who has a valuable religion, which is pure and undefiled. Which Christians have a valuable religion and which Christians have a worthless religion? Christ is valuable. The Christian religion is valuable. But is your own individual practice of the Christian religion valuable or worthless? If it includes the gift of mercy, then you possess one of the three major habits that would make your religion valuable. Below are three habits of a Christian who has a valuable religion.

Note: Somebody might say, “I do not want religion”, or “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual”, or “I am not into religion, but I believe in God”, or “I’m interested in God, but I do not like religion”, etc. If any of these statements describe you, well then you either do not truly understand what you are saying about the word religion or you are grossly misrepresenting the Biblical idea of being religious. Here James used the words “religious” and “religion” and in the Greek they mean fearing, trembling, and worshiping God. So when you say that you are not religious, you are saying that you have no reverence for God, that you do not worship Him or practice what He wants you to practice. You are not disciplined, therefore you are not a disciple of Jesus. Now if this is true of you, well then you are still in your sins and headed for the eternal fire! You are paganistic in your beliefs, not Christian! You need to learn how to be reverent (religious) and how to worship God (religion). The first thing you need to do is bridle your inaccurate tongue on the subject of religion or being religious.

In the Greek, “visit” here means to look after, like the compassionate Samaritan looked after the man who was beaten and robbed of his possessions. It means to show mercy, the gift of mercy. Who should care for the orphan and widow during their troubles? Somebody ought to have mercy on them because they have physical needs.

Beware of ineffectual intellectual mercy or well-wishing because it is not mercy at all. For example, “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (Ja 2:15-17). When a person needs help, intellectual mercy is of no “use” because intellectual faith alone is not alive, but “dead”. Are you a mere talker or a mere thinker? What use is that? It is meaningless, actually in this case “dead”, as James said. Which type of faith do you have, valuable or worthless?

For example: “And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, ‘I feel compassion for the multitude, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not wish to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way’ ” (Mt 15:32). Do you send people away from your presence hungry, especially those who are with you like your children, your spouse, or your visiting friends? Do you strengthen them with food before letting them go on their journey? Jesus understood that people could lose strength and therefore not be able to reach their goal, even the goal of getting back home without fainting for hunger. Are the people in your life weakened because you are failing to have mercy on their hunger? Have mercy!

For example: “And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick” (Mt 14:14). People get sick. Family members get sick. Christians get sick. It can be temporary or long-lasting. It can be simple or serious. What can you do to have mercy on them?

For example: “And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he rose, and followed Him. And it happened that as He was reclining at the table in the house, behold many tax-gatherers and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, ‘Why is your Teacher eating with tax-gatherers and sinners?’ But when He heard this, He said, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners’ ” (Matt 9:9-13).

His religious critics could not understand his spiritual compassion for sinners. But when Jesus saw people, he saw their spiritual needs. For example, “And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd [i.e. pastor]. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest’ ” (Mt 9:36-38). Jesus had mercy on people who needed spiritual workers, shepherds, in their lives to guide, strengthen, and protect them in the kingdom of God. When you see people, what do you see? Do you see spiritual needs? How can you have mercy on people’s spiritual needs?

What type of miracles should have caused the people in those cities to repent? The answer is summarized by Jesus Himself in the very same chapter. Just before He condemned those cities, Jesus said, “Go and report to John what you hear and see; the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Mt 11:4, 5). These are miracles of compassion, such as making blind people see, deaf people to hear, the lame to walk, etc. When you show mercy to people, what kind of reaction do you get? Below, listen to the “Banana Story” to find out a reaction that I received.

One evening, after I had arrived home from a day of work, I sat down to eat. Then someone knocked at the door. I got up and answered it. A bunch of children were there, about seven, and they asked for something to eat. So I gave them each a banana. Then they left and I went back to the dinner table to continue to eat my supper. Then, all of a sudden, BANG! It sounded like a big rock hit our front metal screen door. I thought to myself, “Must be someone throwing rocks again at our house.” [Some children used to make a habit out of throwing rocks at our house, even breaking some windows. It was tempting for them to do this since our house had a road out front and an alley on the left side of the house. Plus many city children were unruly and uncontrolled, and some outright evil.] So I quickly got up and opened the door. There, on the floor, was an opened banana that had been hardly eaten at all. Then I went out on the porch and looked down the street to the left. I saw the whole pack of children, who were previously at my door, running away. They made a left and went down another street. But before they went out of sight, I said, “I guess you didn’t want that banana. I went back into my house, sat down, told the story to my family, and began to eat my food.

To keep oneself “unstained” means to keep oneself holy, separate from sin. There are so many important and valuable aspects in the Bible about living a holy life. Several of them were considered in The Bible Study on Living in Spirit and Truth for Members of Jesus’ Team. But this lesson is not specifically about the teaching of Christian holiness. It’s about mercy. But for mercy to be complete, it must be coupled with keeping itself unstained by the world.