“I had spoken hastily and resentfully. Yet I knew that this was no way to solve a problem. ‘You must not harbor anger,’ I admonished myself. ‘You must be willing to suffer the anger of the opponent, and yet not return anger. You must not become bitter. No matter how emotional your opponents are, you must be calm.” –Martin Luther King

I’m reminded of Jesus’ words when he said, “…go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.'” (Matthew 9:13)

He quoted this scripture from Hosea–twice. (Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13, 12:7)

God loves mercy, and more than that, God wants us to love mercy too. I pray God will help us.

Happy MLK Day!

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:26-32

Image via Mike Licht – Creative Commons