INTRO.- ILL.- Do you remember the 1966 Clint Eastwood movie entitled, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”? It’s just one of many cheaply made, Italian films that helped to make Clint Eastwood famous.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. Have you had a run-in with any of those people lately? If not those, then how about the good, the bad and the crazy?
Generally, you run into these kinds of people out in the working world but they can be found anywhere.
ILL.- For example, here are two entirely different people for whom I worked. It was my first job: the Foodtown Grocery store in Webb City, MO. The Manager was as nice a guy as you would ever find. He was pleasant, helpful, and had a kind way about him. He seemed almost too kind to be a store manager who had to tell people what needed to be done. He was a Christian and his father was a minister.
On the other hand was the Assistant manager. He was an older guy who acted like he knew everything about the grocery business because he’d been in it most of his life. And he may have known everything about it. The only problem was, he was more blow than go. And it’s possible that he was just tired, but it was much easier to work for the manager than the assistant manager.
What if you had to deal with people who talked like this:
- "If you don’t like it, leave. It’s my way or the highway."
- "You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m right."
- "Drop whatever you’re doing - I need this completed ASAP."
Or how about these types of people: the busybody, the antagonist, indecisive, complainer, spoiler, deadbeat, know-it-all, volcano, Sherman tank, crybaby, user, etc.
It would be hard to take some of these people, wouldn’t it? It would be hard to work with such people or for such people. Everyone has to deal with at least one difficult person in life.
How do you deal with difficult people? For that matter, how do you deal with anybody in life? Good, bad or otherwise?
ILL.- A little boy had misbehaved big time. As punishment his mother made his sit at a table by himself during the evening meal. After the meal was finished and his mom, dad, two brothers and sister were about to leave, the little boy bowed his head and said, “Thank you, Lord, for preparing a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
Prayer is definitely one way to deal with people. I’m not sure that’s the right way to pray, however. It’s always right to praise the Lord, even in the midst of our troubles.
PROP.- In the beatitudes Jesus gives us two ways to deal with difficult people and all people for that matter.
1- Demonstrate mercy
2- Pursue peace
I. DEMONSTRATE MERCY
Matt. 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
ILL.- A young lady who occasionally walked through the park after work, stopped to have her picture taken by a photographer on this particular day. She was very excited about her picture being taken. As she walked out of the park, she looked at the Polaroid picture in total amazement. She turned and headed back to the cameraman. When she got there she stated, "This is not right! This is not right! You have done me no justice!"
The photographer looked at the picture and looked at her and stated, "Miss, you don’t need justice, what you need is mercy."
We all need mercy for something, perhaps more for our behavior than for our looks. And we may be quick to ask for mercy from God but are we quick to demonstrate mercy to others?
There are many things that we live with in our own lives, but we can’t seem to stand them in other people’s lives: bad temper, frivolous lifestyle, lack of commitment, etc.
Matt. 9:9-14 “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?" 12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ’I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
The church is for sinners and is made up of sinners. Of course, mostly sinners that are saved by His grace, but all sinners should be welcome. However, some churches are quick to boot people out if they don’t live up to their standards.
ILL.- I heard about a preacher whose wife was in the hospital and dying of cancer. The elders of his church came to the hospital to see them. The preacher thought they were coming to pray for his wife, but instead, they came to fire him.
I have no idea what that preacher did that was so bad, but those elders demonstrated no mercy at all.
I have heard of other horror stories where people have been driven out of a church for one thing or another. No mercy was demonstrated, only rugged legalism. But Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
Matt. 23:23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”
The Pharisees of old were scrupulous or careful when it came to observing religious laws, but they were NOT good about showing mercy and mercy was what the Lord wanted them to demonstrate.
ILL.- How can we forget the example of the woman caught in adultery in John 8? The Pharisees wanted to stone her because that was according to the law. But Jesus did just the opposite. HE DEMONSTRATED MERCY. Jesus broke His own law to demonstrate mercy. Perhaps this should tell us something about God.
Eph. 2:3-5 “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
God is rich in mercy. If He were not rich in mercy, we’d all be in a heap of trouble!
I Tim. 1:15-17 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
If God could show mercy to the worst of all sinners, what should we do?
ILL.- A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. "But I don’t ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." "But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. "Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." "Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman’s son.
Mercy is what God demonstrates to the undeserving sinner and that’s us!
ILL.- John Wesley visited General Ogelthorpe when he was governor of the colony of Georgia. The general mentioned an incident involving a man who had angered him and remarked, “I shall never forgive him!” Wesley responded, “Then I hope sir, that you never sin!”
We all need to remind ourselves that we are sinners, which should hopefully make us respond in kindness and mercy to others who sin.
Is there a reward for mercy? Yes, we get what we give!
Prov. 11:17 “A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.”
If we want the Lord to show us mercy then we need to demonstrate it to others! The more we give, the more we get.
ILL.- The Lord turned Job’s life around and gave him twice as much as he had before he experienced all of his terrible trials. When did God do this? When did He turn Job’s life around?
Job 42:10 “After Job prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much he had before.”
What was it in Job’s prayer that made God turned Job’s life around? It was when he prayed for mercy for his so-called friends who had been critical of him. And it has been suggested that perhaps when we, too, learn the lesson of demonstrating mercy that God will also turn our lives around!
II. PURSUE PEACE
Matt. 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”
Rom. 12:17-18 “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Rom. 14:19 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”
Titus 3:1-2 “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”
Heb. 12:14 “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
I Pet. 3:10-11 “For,"Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. 11He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.”
These scriptures are clear. God wants us to be peacemakers in this world, not peace-breakers! He wants us to be a part of the solution, not the problem.
ILL.- In Peanuts Lucy said one time, “I hate everything. I hate everybody. And I hate the whole wide world.” Charlie said, “But I thought you had inner peace.” Lucy replied, “ I do but I also have outer obnoxiousness.”
I think this is true for many people in life. They may claim to have inner peace, but they sure don’t show it on the outside in their dealings with people.
It seems like some people just carry a chip on their shoulders and go around looking for trouble or looking to stir up trouble. They are troublemakers instead of peacemakers.
ILL.- I remember one time while working as the Assistant Manager of the Trees ‘n Trend store in Cape Girardeau. The company hired some young men that they were going to train to become Assistant Managers. One young man came to our store and the manager asked me to help him fill out some papers that were needed. I tried to help him but he didn’t want to listen and he didn’t want to do it. He threw the papers on the table and said, “I don’t want to do this.” Finally, I walked out and left him alone.
That young man came into our store with a chip on his shoulder. He acted like he knew everything, had all the answers and continually griped about various things, different companies, etc. And I thought, “Young man, you are headed for certain trouble because you are looking for it.”
Brothers and sisters, that is no way to act in this world as a Christian! We are supposed to be peacemakers, not bull-headed know-it-alls!
ILL.- I read that when George Bush was governor of Texas he came into office with a legislature that was in the opposite party. Early in his term he met with the opposition leader of the legislative branch with the hopes of building a cooperative coalition for the future.
The meeting was a failure. There was no trust and no agreement, only conflict.
At the end of the session as Bush got up to leave he suddenly reached over and grabbed the opposition boss with both hands on his neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
The man was completely stunned. He got red faced and stammered, "What did you do that for!". Bush said, "If I can’t get your cooperation and help, I’m at least going to get a kiss!"
The opposition leader broke up laughing and that was the beginning of friendship and the end of conflict.
I don’t know if this story is true or not, but it’s interesting and what Bush did would be one way to handle conflict. Not many could or would do that and I’m not sure how anyone would respond to it.
How are we to act and react in this world? How are we to be peacemakers? We start our days with prayer and praise. We sing and pray. We ask God to work in us and through to bless others and to be peacemakers. Then we go to work. When acted on, we react as kindly and quietly as possible. Prov. 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath or anger. We don’t fight fire with fire, but with God’s Spirit who is at work in us. And when we do this we shall be known as the children of God!
CONCLUSION------------------------
ILL.- Someone said, “Love is the identifying mark of Christianity. In a world of hate, envy, and anger, love sticks out like a healthy thumb. When anyone walks away from an encounter with us, that person should remember our love, not our convictions.” May God help us to love, to demonstrate mercy and pursue peace.
