Mercy and the Consequences of Conduct
It is hardly to be doubted that the moral tone of society would be far more healthful than it is were there less interference, in the name of mercy, with the consequences of violated law. For a man to imagine that he may lie or steal and escape the evil consequence, or any part of it, is most immoral and dangerous. It fosters this illusion whenever a weak good-nature averts from a guilty back the scourge of just consequence. Mercy does not seek first to make men comfortable, but to make them morally sound and strong in conformity to right. For this a strict subjection to the consequences of conduct, whether in the State or in the family, is indispensable. It is not in the way of release from any part of our just responsibilities that we must think of the mercy of God. “Every man shall bear his own burden.”—Christian Union.