Driven to be Merciful

Written by Andrew Morris on Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

I love driving.

There is nothing more relaxing to me than hopping in a car, blasting the radio, and taking an aimless summer drive around town. But there is nothing I find more irritating than slow drivers in the wrong lane, or even worse, people trying to turn left across several lanes of traffic during rush hour. Just as the light turns green it seems, someone decides now is the time to turn left out of that corner gas station and nudges their car forward into the first lane of traffic, which has stopped for them. Leaving the drivers in the next lane with a choice to stop for them too, or to keep driving on.

My first reaction is just frustration. Why can’t people just follow the rules?! Don’t they see how dangerous of a situation they are making; can’t they wait a minute for a natural opening in traffic instead of holding everyone up? I should teach them a lesson by being “that guy” that just zooms past in the other lane. But on further reflection; I too have been the person desperately trying to turn out from somewhere only to be forced to wait endless minutes. Why then am I so irritated that I had to stop and show such a simple (and trivial) act of mercy?

In Pope Francis’s declaration of this Jubilee Year of Mercy he remarks “If God limited himself to only justice, he would cease to be God, and would instead be like human beings who ask merely that the law be respected….God goes beyond justice with his mercy and forgiveness” Humans have such a strong desire for fairness and justice that sometimes we seem to forget that justice and punishment alone are not an end, but rather are a part of a process that should lead to some form of reconciliation. It is easy to condemn and punish; but forgiveness (which is what is actually fulfilling) is much harder. When I keep in mind examples of mercy and compassion that were shown to me, I am much better at recognizing opportunities to show the same toward others, which is far more satisfying than beating a traffic light.

Questions for Reflection:
In what ways do I find it difficult to show some form of mercy to someone even if I can recognize situations when mercy was shown to me?
Have I ever let a desire for justice prevent me from acting with love and mercy toward others?

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Andrew Morris
Andrew recently graduated from U of M with a BSE in Chemical Engineering. His dream car is the Delorean DMC-12, which is as nerdy as it sounds.
Email: andrewtm@umich.edu