Do not let mercy and kindness and truth leave you [instead let these qualities define you]; Bind them [securely] around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. -Proverbs 3:3 This verse comes right before one that is very familiar, Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. There is an insistence in verse 3 to hold on to mercy, kindness, and truth tightly. When I think of binding something, I think of wrapping it so tightly that there is no escape. Whatever is written or inscribed on a stone tablet, refer- enced in the next line, is permanent. It can’t just be erased. This is the idea behind how securely we are to grasp the qualities listed in verse 3. Unfortunately, it can be easy to neglect mercy, kindness, and truth. Especially when we have been hurt, when we have not been shown mercy, or when we have been lied to or about. I believe that’s why we aren’t told just to know what these qualities are, but to hold on to them so tightly that we don’t easily turn from them. Of course, the more deeply rooted in Christ we are the easier it is to hold on to mercy, truth, and kindness in the face of heartache and disappointment. It’s because the more deeply rooted in Christ we are, the more we reflect His mercy, truth, and kindness. The same mercy, truth, and kindness that are daily given to us. Our ability to show those qualities to people who have wounded us doesn't come from our own strength. I have a new understanding of that familiar verse 5...We are not to lean on our own understanding when trying to figure out how to respond to those that hurt us. Our responsibility is to operate in mercy, kindness, and truth through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we acknowledge Him and follow His direction, He will make our paths to restoration and healing straight.
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