The Pulpit Speaks: August 11, 1956

An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown.

Now we continue our discussion of our general theme: “Facing Up to Life.” We find ourselves discussing the beatitude, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

Happy are those people who are concerned about or considerate of others because somewhere down life’s highway, the same thing shall be meted out to them. But let me hasten to say let’s not show mercy or consideration for what it is going to bring us, but let’s show these things because we feel morally obligated to do just that.

I feel that our world is growing entirely too reward conscious now. Whenever an act is committed or a deed done the first thing that arises in many – or shall I say in most – of our minds is, “What am I going to get out of it?”

No, it is not a matter of rendering a service for service sake. It is not a matter of doing a noble deed for the sake of helping someone else. Our chief concern is what reward is this thing going to bring me? If, after much analysis, we can see no personal gain, we grow slightly leery about doing the thing.

This story is brought out beautifully in the story of the “Good Samaritan” as told by Jesus. Here we find three men passing a wounded man upon a highway. Two of them satisfied themselves in looking upon him and saying, “he is not of my social group or he is not of my racial group so I have no obligations to him.

But we cannot discharge our spiritual and moral obligations with such little concern. Our concern for our fellow man goes further than social or racial boundaries. Our obligations reach out a little further than these superficial boundaries many of us have drawn around ourselves.

I once had a friend who told me that she did not have any time for anyone who did not have a degree. How unfortunate. This poor young lady, who only a few moments ago had just obtained a degree herself, could go back to her own home and there find a mother who had no degree but who had done more for her than all the teachers she had had. Now she is telling me that she had no time for this mother? Is life for her now such a “high faluting thing” that she has no time for those who have meant so much to her?

Sometimes I wonder!

Is not life a sojourney down here that all we have should be used for the glorification of God? Are we not temporary custodians of God’s goodness? Whatever we find ourselves possessing, are not those things to be used for the glorification of God? Personally I think that they are. When we tune ourselves to the voice of God and hear him speaking to each of us, I feel we will hear Him saying to each of us that whatever our lot, we should be doing something for the extension of His kingdom.

“Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” Blessed are they who are concerned about world conditions, or personal conditions, or social conditions, for in proportion that they are concerned, they shall be rewarded in seeing a realization in making this a better world.

Whenever I think of the exactness with which some people use life, I think of a story I read sometime ago. It was one of Shakespeare’s: “The Merchant of Venice.” Here we find a man demanding a full fulfillment of an agreement. This agreement had been made sometime prior but now was unable to be met. The person who held the odds on the debtor was determined to collect all he had for the satisfying of the obligation. To many of us, if we were to look in the mirror, we, too, would see a Shylock who was bent on collecting all that we can with no concern for the feelings of others. I have heard it said on many occasions that ofttimes we fly high, but one day we wake up to find ourselves back on the ground.

Sometimes we need all of those about us to bring a little joy in the bleakness that life has showered upon us. Sometimes we will need someone to lead us out of the darkness that has surrounded us. Sometimes we will need someone to make the balance of our days happy and comfortable but such will be warranted only if we, somewhere down the road, have shown mercy and tenderness for those who happened our way.

Blessed are the merciful, the concerned, the considerate, for they shall, in the same measure, receive just that.