So I ponder the interplay of justice and mercy a lot, how the two work with each other and against each other at the same time. You can't have one without the other, yet the two so rarely exist in a given situation at the same time.
Being as religious as I am, I especially ponder the mercy and justice of God. I came across an interesting realization as I thought about the scriptures that talk about this interplay.
If you read verses on justice, most of them say something to the effect of "God is a just God" or "God has to be a just God." (See, for example, Alma 42; there it states justice could not be destroyed or God would cease to be God, or in other words God has to be just.) If you read verses on mercy, however, they say something far different. Many of them say "God wants to save us" or "God wants to be a merciful God." (See, for example, D&C 43:24-25.)
Interesting that God has to be a just God, but He wants to be a merciful God. He wants to forgive us, show us mercy, but we have to do what's necessary.
I wonder if we are the same way. Do we want to forgive people? Do we want to show them mercy? My opinion is that we rarely want to forgive someone; if God does, however, shouldn't we as well? We shouldn't need a reason to forgive someone; rather we should need a reason to not forgive them, and a very compelling reason at that.
