Mercy Triumphs over Judgment

A country gets the leaders it deserves

“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:12-13).

The United Kingdom is clearly at a moment of profound political instability, with the Labour Party engulfed by internal revolt, and the nation waiting to see whether Keir Starmer will resign before he faces a leadership challenge, with several aspiring candidates tussling eagerly in the wings. 

But there’s another angle to the mess that our country is in – and indeed other Western countries, such as the US – and that is the utter lack of mercy and grace shown to anyone who disagrees with us. 

It doesn’t seem to matter what the topic is. Unpleasant, judgemental voices want to shout down – or in modern parlance, ‘cancel’ – those with whom they disagree. 

Unpleasant, judgemental voices want to shout down – or in modern parlance, ‘cancel’ – those with whom they disagree. 

Hatred on the left

Indeed, one of the reasons the Labour party is in disarray, with voices clamouring for the replacement of Starmer, is that they have felt that they have needed to appease the vocal left of the party. They’ve dilly dallied around with their response to the situation in Gaza, of losing more votes to the Greens and pro-Gaza independents. 

Yet the votes have haemorrhaged nonetheless, as they won’t go far enough to please these people. This particular crowd is not just interested in the welfare of the Palestinians (which anyone with a heart should be), but they are, in the main, virulently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic, and they see anyone who thinks differently – including, it would seem, all visibly Jewish people – as ‘complicit in genocide’, and therefore evil.

 A similar type of voice calls any attempt to crack down on terrorism or immigration as ‘racist’ – a slur that in modern Britian is almost the worst that can be given.  Any attempt to limit immigration or welfare is seen as ‘far-right’, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood being labelled the additional slur of ‘coconut’. Labour activists have been known to wear t-shirts bearing slogans such as ‘never kissed a Tory’ – a suggestion that people with views which differ from theirs are utterly beyond the pale. 

Intolerance on the right

Yet the Left is not the only culprit of this intolerance. One of the reasons Reform is doing so well – especially in last week’s elections – right across the country, is that many refuse to forgive the Conservatives for the mistakes made when they were in office. Don’t get me wrong – their blunders were very real. There is a palpable frustration at the number of immigrants – particularly, and understandably, when certain types of crime have risen, in part due to this fact. 

There is a tarring of all immigrants with one brush. 

Yet we see the same intolerance in people’s rhetoric, of blaming immigrants for much of what is going wrong in this country. There is a tarring of all immigrants with one brush – legal and illegal; genuine refugees and opportunist migrants; law-abiding and criminals – as if to suggest the native white population were as good as gold! 

I live in a predominantly white area, and I can confirm that all the local crime, intolerance and general unpleasantness in my district seems to come from individuals within that white majority. The small number of immigrants and ethnic minorities don’t seem to increase the crime rate at all. Islamism is unquestionably a clear and very serious threat to this country, yet it is still the case that the majority of Muslims are peace-abiding and simply want to get on with their lives without any fuss. The Muslims I have known personally have been warm, hospitable people. 

Enmity within the Church

The Christian Church should be leading by example, in trying to understand one other. Yet we sometimes save our most vicious attacks for our own. To give just one example, divisions over homosexuality have recently re-emerged – not least among evangelical believers who are otherwise completely of one accord in asserting that homosexual practice is sinful. This follows the moral failing of Sam Allberry – a high-profile evangelical leader (British, but based in the US) who has for long publicly professed celibacy while acknowledging same-sex attraction. Some have blasted him for the ‘gross sin’ of simply having underlying same-sex attraction – even insisting there is no such thing as sexual orientation, which they claim is a modern ‘invention’. 

The Christian Church should be leading by example, in trying to understand one other. Yet we sometimes save our most vicious attacks for our own.

Similarly, the way in which Allberry’s books have been removed from sale – truly a valid use of the word ‘cancelling’ – after he admitted to an inappropriate emotional attachment to another man, shows the same lack of empathy or mercy or understanding for another fellow Christian who has struggles that differ from those faced by the majority of people. 

By distinction, Jesus taught us to treat each other with grace, recognising that we are all capable of mistakes. Indeed, he held his harshest criticisms for hypocrisy. 

Rejecting God’s ways

Going back to politics, some of Labour’s woes are undoubtedly of its own making (just as it was for the Conservatives before them, and as will likely become the case, too, for Reform, should they get into power). I’m thinking, for example, of the large rise in taxation for businesses employing people, which has reduced available jobs, thus increasing youth unemployment in particular, and adding to the number of people on welfare. Of course, some problems are totally out of the government’s control, such as the yet-to-be-fully-seen impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz impacting world trade.

By distinction, Jesus taught us to treat each other with grace, recognising that we are all capable of mistakes.

But in reality, many of Labour’s woes are to do with the rejection of God’s ways by the people of this country, which affects its whole population. For example, shoplifting is out of control, with even middle-class people stealing just for the fun of it, putting up food prices for everyone. And the DWP has warned of an “increasing propensity to fraud in society”, with regards to benefit claims. There seems, in general, to be a reduction in people thinking of and caring about other people  outside of their own families. 

Young people, in particular, feel that this country does not care for them – with one half drowning in student debt yet unable to get a well-paid job to pay it off; the other half struggling to find even basic employment (and, admittedly, many others too disinterested or depressed to even bother looking for work). Few can get on the housing ladder. They then turn against the ‘Boomers’ and the ‘rich’ – no wonder the Green Party and others are able to stir up and capitalise on their resentment. 

The gospel is good news

More than ever, it is up to the Church to help in changing this whole narrative. We have a message of hope. A message that God is the one who can make a difference, not political parties of any colour, or yet another new Prime Minister. Jesus begins by forgiving us of our sins, if we accept his mercy, and then wants to transform us to live as people of His Kingdom.

We have a message of hope. A message that God is the one who can make a difference, not political parties of any colour, or yet another new Prime Minister.

We have a highly relevant message that Jesus taught us. To love our neighbours as ourselves. That we shouldn’t take what isn’t ours, but instead work for our living. That faithfulness in marriage is something to strive for, for the best for the next generation. To be merciful to each other – not to put each other down. (Yes, we should hold each other accountable, and have high expectations, but that’s different to damning people for their mistakes.) 

The government can’t go very far in teaching all of this. The Church can. And it seems that more and more people are willing to listen now. 

Certainly, the country faces many serious challenges, externally and internally, that we need a strong government to rise to. But the rest is up to us, not least, to preach the gospel – not just one of inner spirituality and going to heaven when we die, but of the transformation of our very lives here on this earth today. 

For society will only be changed with a radical transformation of its people, through the work of the Holy Spirit of God.

(Image by David Espinoza from Pixabay)