Understanding The BeatitudesНамуна

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy

Mercy consists of treating people better than they deserve. Forgiveness is a type of mercy, as is aiding someone whom we have no obligation to help. Mercy, in all these senses, is the driving force of Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection. Through him, our sins are forgiven and we ourselves receive aid by the gift of God’s spirit. 

What might mercy look like in the workplace?

At work, mercy has a highly practical effect. We are to aid others to attain their best outcomes, regardless of how we feel about them. When you assist a co-worker, whom you may not like and who may even have wronged you in the past, you are showing mercy. 

Mercy may cost you an advantage you could otherwise have taken. Yet it benefits the work outcome, as well as the other person. Assisting someone you don’t like helps your work unit achieve its goals, even if it doesn’t benefit you personally. 

An environment of forgiveness in an organization offers another surprising result. It improves the organization’s performance. If someone makes a mistake in an organization where mercy is not shown, they are likely not to say anything about it, hoping it will not be noticed and they will not be blamed. This diminishes performance in two ways. The first is that an error covered up may be much more difficult to deal with later. Imagine a construction job where a worker makes a mistake with a foundation fitting. It is easy to fix if it is brought to light and repaired right away. But it will be very expensive to fix after the structure is built and the foundation buried. The second is that the best learning experiences come out of learning from errors. Organizations don’t have the opportunity to learn if mistakes are not brought forward.

Reflection

How might you be merciful to someone this week?

Prayer

Jesus, thank You for the mercy You demonstrated through Your life, death and resurrection. Draw me into a deeper understanding of Your mercy.