A little gray

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.   Matthew 5:7 (NIV)

The other day while driving I was thinking (uh-oh) and my mind got going.  The subject matter:  Rules.  And these were the words that kept running through my head:   Black. White.  And lots of gray. 

We've all heard it said many times that something is either black or white, there is no middle ground or gray area, so-to-speak.  I've decided that that is definitely not always the case.  And man, am I thankful for that.  Is the bible black and white?  My opinion is that God and Jesus saw a lot of gray.  If everything were clearly black and white, where would two of my most precious friends fit in?  Grace and Mercy.

When I started exploring this a little, my first thought was that the Old Testament was black and white and the New Testament is where the gray started popping up...you know after Jesus came and died for us, but then I remembered the story of Jonah and decided maybe not.

I love the story of Jonah and the whale.  It has to be among the top-ten favorite bible stories for children.  It is incredible, which I think is what makes it so interesting.  In this story, Jonah is told by God to go to Nineveh and preach repentance.  Nineveh was a wicked place and Jonah knew this.  He ignored the command from God, hopped on a ship and set sail.  And because God commands all of creation, a huge storm came and threatened the ship that Jonah was on.  Eventually Jonah was blamed for the storm by the crew and thrown overboard.  God sent a large fish or a whale to save Jonah from drowning at sea, and that whale swallowed Jonah.  After three days in the belly of the whale, Jonah was literally puked out by the whale onto dry land...all at the hands of God.  To me, this is a perfect example of God's mercy. 

In the clear black/white version of this story, Jonah should have drowned in the sea, or when swallowed by the large fish or whale, he could've been digested as usual.  Jonah did wrong.  No question.  God ordered him to go to Nineveh and he did not.  Jonah should've been punished by God for ignoring his command.  But instead God showed Jonah mercy.  Jonah was saved and maybe taught a little lesson through that mercy.  (I see some gray.)

On into the New Testament, the story of the woman at the well is another great example of gray.  The woman at the well lived a not-so-perfect-life and everyone knew it.  Here she was drawing from the well at the time of day where she was least likely to encounter others, which was her goal, to steer clear of judgments and stares...and who is sitting there?  The one and only Jesus.   In the black and white version of this story, maybe Jesus would've condemned the woman for all of her promiscuity and sin, he could have given her lectures on all the commandments she had broken, how she had dishonored her husband(s), etc.  I suppose he could've taken her into town, gathered a crowd and made a spectacle of her in public.

Thankfully, there's that gray area again.  Jesus let her know that he knew the things she had done, but he didn't judge her, he accepted her as is.  He wasn't embarrassed to be seen talking to her, this low member of society.  He shared with her how she could take a drink of living water that would fill her completely so she would never thirst again...instead of using men and other things to fill the void in her life.  He extended grace and mercy to her when she did not deserve it.

I've decided I'm not a black and white person, that I'm a little more gray-ish.  There are certain rules and boundaries that shouldn't be broken or extended.  I believe in discipline and consequences.  If rules are broken, if boundaries are pushed, there needs to be a consequence for that.  But I also believe that there are times when situations need to be looked at individually.  There are times when evaluating the circumstances, finding out the facts as best you can before jumping to a conclusion and slamming down the gavel are warranted.

I don't think there is always a clear-cut answer or response to everything.  I know there are those who think that bending the rules and letting things go every now and then serves no purpose.  I guess my opinion is that sometimes rules have to be modified a bit...not all the time, just here and there.  It may seem wrong to someone else who may not know exactly what is going on or the idea behind it, it may seem unfair to another who was dealt a different hand, it may seem that someone is playing favorites, and it also may totally blow up in the face of the person giving the break. 

When I was looking through scripture, I found the one above and had to laugh.   How many times have you cracked down on someone for saying or doing something they weren't supposed to and then later you were busted for the same thing?! Oh my goodness, that happens to me all the time.  It's the worst with my kids. I will call them out on something and sure enough I will do that something (wonder where they get it) and think almost immediately, Oh, man, I hope they don't remember that I got mad at them for this very same thing...oops, too late.  

There are many days I thank God for the gray.  "Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy."  Remember that the next time you're in this type of situation....you just may be the one in need of that mercy later.