Perfecting Saints

MOTIVATIONAL GIFTING - MERCY

Definition:
1. Likes to show mercy.
2. Manifestation of pity.
3. To identify with and comfort those who are in distress.
4. Senses emotional and mental needs of groups and individuals.
A mercy motive must: (Rom. 12:15)
1. Share the happiness of those who are happy - rejoice with those who rejoice.
2. Enter into the grief (weep) with those who are in sorrow (who are weeping).
Mercy motive weaknesses:
1. Greatest weakness - indifference.
2. Need to have moral freedom - protects from improper relationships.
Traits:
1. Emotions:
  1. Can detect joy and sadness in people - senses full scope of emotions.
  2. Drawn to people who are hurting - emotional distress rather than physical.
  3. Sensitivity also causes emotionally and mentally hurt people to confide in them.
  4. Wants to remove pain and hurt from people - tries to remove source of pain - does not see benefit of pain.
  5. Very sensitive to words and actions that can cause pain.
  6. Feels empathy with misfortunes and misery of others.
  7. Need for deep friendships - must be mutual commitment and reaffirmed.
  8. Deeply loyal to friends - may react harshly to those who attack his friends.
  9. Drawn to mercy people most, yet are drawn to prophecy motives for firmness after experience of the cross in self life.
  10. Measures acceptance by physical closeness, enjoys rich fellowship.
  11. Has ability to sense genuine love.
  12. Carries a greater vulnerability to deeper and more frequent hurts from people not showing love.
  13. Will withdraw and close his spirit to those who are insensitive or insincere.
2. Ministry:
  1. Doesn't like to be firm unless has to be.
  2. Doesn't want to offend - must see that greater hurt and more offenses will come if not firm.
  3. Can detect motives of people.
  4. Mentally and emotionally relates to their needs and give them aid.
  5. Willing to spend a lot of time with one person - recognizes need for quality time to explain feelings.
  6. May tend to disregard needs of the whole group in preference for needs of one person.
Dangers and misunderstandings:
1. Attitudes:
  1. Being proud of his ability to emphasize.
  2. Resenting people who are not sensitive to other people's needs.
  3. Recognizes and reacts to insensitivity - closing spirit and cutting off relationships.
  4. Sensitivity to motives and attitudes may be obstacle to building relationships.
  5. Deep need for commitment in close relationships can cause possessive monopolizing of time and attention from others - may make greater demands on new relationships.
  6. Fails to show deference, fails to consider desires and needs of others, and of their friend's time.
  7. Being guided by emotions rather than logic.
  8. Tend to base their decisions on their emotion rather than Biblical principles.
  9. Tend to reject Biblical doctrines which seem harsh.
  10. Tend to react to God's disciplines causing bitterness in self.
  11. Do not have spiritual discernment as to why people suffer.
  12. May tolerate evil - needs to see people through eyes of other motive gifts.
  13. May avoid giving needed discipline causing lack of repentance.
  14. Not wanting to be firm appears as wishy-washy - a weakness which prophecy motives will react to.
2. Ministry:
  1. Wanting to help may be misunderstood by the opposite sex - attraction comes because of the mercy's ability to be sensitive, attentive, understanding, and responsive listener.
  2. Sensitivity to things that can hurt can cause mercy motives to take up an offense - especially if one being hurt is a friend.

References:

Discerning Spiritual Gifts, Institute In Basic Youth Conflicts

Seven Gifts To Success, tapes, Marilyn Hickey

E-mail: efi7jld@gmail.com
BACK TO: Perfecting of the Saints; Giftings; EFI; THE EDIFIER
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, Ephesians 4:12
© 1981, Jacqueline L. Davis
WWW © 1999, EFI
Created: 7/9/99
Updated: 5/28/2011