The Trinitarian Balance of Values

UV 1703/10000 The Trinitarian Balance of Values

Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

Psalm 112 v 4
The Word is the plumb line that determines who is upright. It gives us the righteous principles to which we should align ourselves. The righteous live in the light of truth and love. Even in dark and seemingly hopeless situations, the Lord will send them a ray of hope. The righteous eschew the deeds of darkness. If we abide in the Lord, we abide in His Word and we will always have hope that He will redeem us from every form of darkness within and without. If one is only righteous, it will tend to make us proud and feel morally superior to others. This is the reason, the uni-verse places the values in this order: first, graciousness, then, compassion and finally, righteousness. This kind of balance of a trinity of values will keep us from being judgemental, legalistic, self righteous. It will teach us humility and help us remember our own past and present vulnerabilities. The Lord’s definition of integrity or uprightness is a balance and combination of graciousness, compassion and righteousness. This is the Trinitarian balance of values that holds our lives together: the righteousness or holiness and perfection of the Father, the graciousness of Jesus and the compassion of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

We are required to be gracious even as the Lord is gracious. It implies that just as we freely and undeservedly received mercy and grace from the Lord, so also we are to gracious to others, not because they deserve it. To be gracious means that we need to be generous, kind, loving, gentle, forgiving and helpful. We should not tire of being so even to those who are rude and not reciprocating our goodness. In actual life, we are often bitter when people do not reciprocate our kindness, our goodness, our favours to them.

In addition to being gracious to all, we are called to be compassionate to those who are in need, those who are sick, weak and vulnerable. The opposite of compassionate is a heart that is hardened, unmoved, untouched and unfeeling. The heart of Jesus made Him weep at the plight of Jerusalem pondering over the mass destruction that was to come. It made Him think of providing food miraculously by multiplying the few loaves and fish available in order to feed the hungry people who followed Him. The compassionate of Jesus made Him weep at the tomb of Lazarus. It moved Him to resurrect the dead Lazarus. The compassionate heart of Jesus led Him to forgive the sinful woman who was about to be stoned to death. The compassionate heart of Jesus led Him to forgive many others like Zacheus. The compassion should not be merely emotional or intellectual but it should move us to action to satisfy the need that evoked it. A compassionate heart is one that resonates with the heart of Jesus. A compassionate heart is one that is gentle and meek and controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Prateep V Philip