Mercy

The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: "See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God." (Micah 6:8 CEV)

As I learn about humility and seek to humble myself before God during Lent, concepts like compassion and mercy seem to come up a lot. Yeah, I have always thought compassion is a Christian thing and mercy is a virtue. But why is it so unnatural for me to be concerned about others? Why is so hard to even imagine that mercy might become my first concern? Yet, God is really into mercy and compassion. He really wants me to "love mercy" (NIV) as I walk humbly before Him. Mercy seems to be a necessary byproduct of humility. Or, is humility just a prerequisite of mercy? So, if I am not compassionate and mercy is not my first concern, I am not that far along in my spiritual journey. If I am really being transformed by the Spirit into the Son's image, than I should pick up on some of those Divine traits. Micah 7:18 says that God is glad to have pity (CEV) or delights to show mercy (NIV). Lord, change me into a person who delights to show mercy.