Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13)
Expanded Passage: James 2:1-13
In many card games, the players identify the card or suit that is trump. For example, in spades, the highest card in the deck is the big joker. In euchre, it is the jack of the suit called. How you acquire the strong suit or trump is left to chance. The dealer will randomly whip the cards across the table to the players. Each player hopes for a good hand—one packed with trump cards. Your confidence either slumps or soars depending on how much trump you have in your hand.
In similar fashion, God is a dealer. The cards he deals can be compared to virtues we should aspire to possess. We play these cards in the game of life. When someone plays a card against us such as “disrespect” or “rejection,” we have trump cards to play, such as “respect” and “acceptance.” James taught us that mercy triumphs or “trumps” judgment. When someone harms our reputation, we can slam down a judgment card, or we can pull out a mercy trump card and win, not only the hand, but the person.
One last thought: Our loving heavenly Father does not deal the cards in a haphazard fashion, leaving to chance what virtues we should have. Because our God is all-wise, he has dealt us a handful of trump cards we can play to win people for Christ.
Trump judgment with mercy to win people for Christ.
Jim Miller is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. He and his wife, Renee, live in Washington, DC, and enjoy spending time traveling with their two children.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
