Showing Mercy

O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.  Psalms 136:26

Thankfully, our heavenly Father certainly doesn't give us what we deserve.  We are shown mercy upon mercy.  We are amazed at the endless supply of grace and mercy given us by the Lord Jesus Christ.    The definition of grace is receiving favor that is undeserved.  Many times grace and kindness are used interchangeably, but really grace is showing or receiving kindness, when the kindness is not deserved.  I don't in any way deserve God's favor, salvation, and eternal home, and yet God saw fit to give me all of these things.  I do deserve punishment and eternal separation from God in hell, and yet God saw fit to spare me these things.  This is mercy.

Our children benefit from our grace and mercy.  What a sad and cumbersome life for the child that is never shown either.  For your benefit, here are some times in which I will show grace and/or mercy to my children.  You are welcome to provide examples of your own in the comments.

Sometimes children just do silly, dumb, or crazy things.  There are times when they just can't help themselves.  (Yes, I said it.)  They are careless and spill things.  They get excited and are very loud.  They see the bubble wrap or streamers or confetti and no adult around.  Unless you have given specific instructions, gather all the patience you can muster, take a deep breath, and you and your child clean up the mess, fix the broken lamp, etc. etc.  You cannot tolerate willful disobedience, but you can tolerate kids being kids.  I know there is a fine line between the two; pray for wisdom and use your best judgment as you decide if the line has been crossed.

I don't back my kids into a corner (figuratively speaking) so that they feel compelled to lie to me.  For example, if I see one of my kids take a cookie, or do something wrong I will not ask the him if he committed the offense.  I will not ask my 6 year old, "Did you hit her?"  Instead I say, "I saw you hit her."  If I already know the offense has been committed, there is no reason to give my child an opportunity to lie.  There will be times when I genuinely don't know whether or not my child has done something wrong and I will have to ask them to tell the truth and admit their offense.  At that time, a lie will be dealt with seriously.

When my kids have done something wrong, but tell me the truth about it, I show mercy.  They may not get off scott free, but I honor their truthfulness.  I will show mercy and emphasize how important it is to always tell the truth.

Finally, if my child is very contrite I will sometimes (not often) grant a free pass.  They know they deserve punishment and yet they will be shown mercy.  We all mess up, and I think it is important for our children to be shown mercy as they grow up.  What a great opportunity to minister to our children, as we speak about the gospel, and the mercy the Lord has shown to us.

Are there times when your child gets a "get out of jail" card?  Comment, I'd love to hear your examples!