Stuff I Wish You’d Quit Saying: May God Have Mercy on Your Soul

Stuff I Wish You’d Quit Saying: May God Have Mercy on Your Soul

I know you are but what am I?

Of all the stupid things I hate to see this takes the proverbial and literal cake.

Jesus, come quickly.

I have to ask, you of the High Horse, who in hells bells do you think you are?  Am I to assume that you know the heart of man so well as to assume you know who God’s mercy needs to be assigned?

Furthermore, is this how you fish for men?

Do you for one second believe that non-believers, or worse yet, those who have cowered from belief and are tending to their wounds are in some way comforted by this pompous and self-absorbed “prayer?”

While I am at it, as I bang away through hot tears and my hands tremble with fury guess what….

HE DID HAVE MERCY.

SUCH GRAND MERCY HE SENT HIS SON TO SLAUGHTER FOR YOU!  He alone knows the heart of man and this is the most arrogant nonprayer prayer to be muttered on the internet.  And worse than that, the place that I saw it, REPEATEDLY, that envoked RAGE and turned hurt people into ENRAGED and JADED walking wounded was absolutely the most infuriating place I have seen it to date: On a Facebook announcement about the untimely death of rock legend Tom Petty.

Tom Petty, who was just shy of his 67^th birthday died October 2^nd, 2017 at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica Califonia.  In one post, line after line read, RIP, and thanks for the music, Free falling, and then, “May God have mercy on your soul.”

To which several people replied, “F&^$ you!  You didn’t know him?”

Exactly.

Now, you have heard yourself say something wise and extraordinary, or thrown the first stone, is this where you would like to list your sin?  Or will you be posting pictures on Instagram?  What’s your IG username so I can be sure and follow you?  Cause this I gotta see, you are either #totesperf or the next thing my eyes will see will have the Last Dance with Mary Jane harmoniously playing in the background.

STOP. IT.

This is not even a prayer.  Scripturally speaking it might have come from Deuteronomy, which is the old covenant which if you are a Christian doesn’t apply to you and if you are Jewish, uh well within the 600+ Mosaic laws I am certain there is some fault that can be found with you, Tom Petty, the Internet, me, and that shrimp boil potluck we have tickets to.

Historically, the statement was used in courts when condemning someone to the death penalty.

Tom Petty died of a heart attack.

If someone reads this post and decided to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior while scrolling through a Facebook feed and read the words, “MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL,”  then I apologize, perhaps this is an effective means of preaching the Good News.

Alas, I fully believe it is the polar opposite of why Jesus, came, suffered, died and was buried.

That was the mercy.

That was it.

The Good News was that today if we believe we will be with Him in paradise.  To the thief on the cross, there was literally nothing left to do.  He was done, as good as dead. A simple yes bought him eternity.  What God is this?  Who is that generous?  What loving and glorious and mysterious GRACE?  And we beat it to death and assume we know the heart of a rock icon or pretend we know what he saw, believed or knew – that we have the audacity to beg  on his behalf, for our own glory, the mercy of a God who already laid down His own life that we could be with Him – FOREVER.

The last shall be first, the first shall be last.

All this, the knot in my stomach, the sadness I felt, how I prayed Tom Petty’s daughter didn’t see that hellfire and brimstone bickering as she posted innocent, heartwrenching pictures of her daddy, who loved her so well… and passed too soon.

And then I realized, that same God who you so flippantly and arrogantly called upon for great mercies on the soul of a legendary musician, is the same merciful God who saw you type it and still counts you blameless.

That is grace.

He died so that such folly could be forgiven – so that nothing could separate us from Him. The veil was torn, and He sat down at the right hand of the Father.

Mercy.

Our words are seen far and wide friends, choose wisely.  Our God is simply good.

“No one’s got Christ more wrong than the Christians.” Tom Petty

[clickToTweet tweet=”“No one’s got Christ more wrong than the Christians.” Tom Petty #freefalling #stolenjesus” quote=”“No one’s got Christ more wrong than the Christians.” Tom Petty #freefalling #stolenjesus”]

May your floors be sticky and your calling ordained.  Love, Jami

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

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