In mercy and truth, atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil. When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.      Proverbs 16:6-7 NKJV

I often say that God asks us to do the hard stuff. I say this because it takes more strength to forgive than to stay mad at someone. It takes more strength to be kind to someone we consider difficult. Doing the “right thing” requires much more strength than just going with the flow or going against God’s commands.

It’s much easier to not love our enemies and not pray for those who persecute us (Luke 6:27-28). It’s much easier to not give God first place in our lives (Matthew 6:33). If we do something like that we may actually not want to sin. We may be strongly convicted when we sin. We may actually want to get up and go to church on Sunday morning instead of sleeping in, or working around the house or yard, or whatever else we may use our church time for.

But doing it the easy way usually brings problems. Our Scripture passage today gives us just a couple of the many benefits of doing it God’s way. In verse 5 it tells us that mercy and truth bring atonement. We all sin. Romans 3:23 tells us that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all need Jesus. He is the propitiation (which is a big word for atonement or pleasing God) for our sins. He paid for our sins with His blood on the cross. But that doesn’t mean that everyone has this get- out- of- hell- free card. We still have to accept Christ as our Savior. If we fail to do so, then we have no assurance of the benefits that a life in Him provides for us. When we are truthful, we honor God because we know that lying is an abomination to the LORD (Proverbs 12:22).

God requires that we be merciful. Micah 6:8 tells us that God requires us to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with Him, our God. Mercy is an important part of our walk with the LORD. He requires it of us and He gives it to us when we extend it to others. Jesus said in Matthew 6:15 that if we do not forgive men their trespasses (or sins against us) that God will not forgive us when we sin against Him. Don’t fail to forgive others, because remember we all sin. We need God’s forgiveness on a continual basis. We must extend that same forgiveness to others.

We are to fear the LORD. By this, we mean that we are to have a reverential awe of Him and His mighty power. I look around and see very few people in this world who truly fear the Lord. If they did they would not say and do the things they do.

We are to please the LORD. Our Scripture passage tells us that when we please the LORD, he makes even our enemies be at peace with us. Unless you thrive on drama, and I know many people who do, you want peace in your life. You want to be at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18 says that if possible, we should live at peace with everyone. I know that this is not always possible, but we should do our part to be at peace with others. It takes two to fight. We are to focus on God. We are to pray for their salvation. We are to love them and pray for them even if it has to be from a distance. What they choose to do is on them.

It’s easy to read all that and say, “But you don’t know what they did to me.” You’re absolutely right. I have no idea what they did to you, but I know it doesn’t matter. You still treat it the same. So whether they stomped your foot or defamed you in front of all your so-called friends on social media, we still handle them the same way. We love them. We pray for them. This won’t be easy, so you may need to call on God to help you with that.

Many of you will read this and not have any intention of doing these things and that’s okay. It’s your prerogative. But, if you want to make God happy and want true peace in your life then trust me, you need to be truthful, merciful, and above all you need to please God by obeying His commands.

Have a great day!