"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."

merciful- compassionate; providing relief
mercy- compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power; lenient or compassionate treatment.

In order to show someone mercy, a person must be in a position of power over that person. This word does not mean "forgive those who hurt you." (that's meekness) People who show mercy are people with the power to punish subordinates, deserved or undeserved, and choose not to. he image I get in my head when I read this definition is of a king who decides if a peasant prisoner should live or die. A merciful king decides to allow the peasant to live because he sees something in this lowly man that makes him believe that he should be given a second chance at life.

So in this beattitude, was Jesus encouraging people in positions of power to be compassionate leaders? Absolutely. Jesus believes in trusting people who do not earn his trust. Otherwise we would never receive salvation.

How can we show mercy? What if we don't feel like we have enough power to be merciful? Each of us has some sort of influence or power over someone else, whether it is direct (parent, boss, teacher, etc.) or indirect (someone who knows a secret about someone else, a person who has been wronged by someone who is trying to earn their forgiveness, etc.). If you have direct power over another, be compassionate. Do not dismiss issues that need to be dealt with, but don't threaten to carry out a ridiculous punishment just so you can claim you were merciful in giving a more fair punishment ("I could fire you for being late, but I'm just going to write you up. You better be glad you have me for a boss"). Be compassionate from the start by designing rules and punishments for breaking these rules around your knowledge of human nature. Punishment is certainly necessary, but be merciful so the punishment does not end or severely damage your relationship with your subordinate. Use your authority to inspire people to do righteous actions rather than scaring them into skirting just close enough to the right thing to get by.

If you are in a position of indirect power over someone else, be merciful in not using that power to manipulate them. Showing mercy in these situations means being honest about why you hold this mysterious power over this person, and refusing to guilt trip the other person into complying with your demands. Show mercy by forgiving these people, or in some cases, accepting their authority over you despite their flaws.

The kicker is the second part of this beattitude: "they shall receive mercy." No matter what, there will always be times in our lives when we have authority to show mercy to other, and there will be other times when we will be the subordinate. If we show mercy to those we supervise, those who have power over us will be more inclined to show us mercy. Basically "treat others as you would have them treat you."