by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
We cannot see what is going on inside someone. That’s obvious, but sometimes our judgments about people assume that everything should be normal for them because we can’t see anything outwardly wrong. If we see them acting in ways we would otherwise expect, we might judge them to be rude, or worse. When someone is dealing with internal issues that affect their interactions with others, it’s easy to lose patience or think that the person just doesn’t care or is being selfish. We judge the feelings of others based on how we think they should feel, and this can lead to serious misjudgments and assumptions that change how we treat them. Our judgment is based on outward appearance when, internally, there may be another story to tell.<\/p>\n
This drives home to me why we need to be merciful. I’m not talking about going easy on sin. We need to be aware that problems suffered aren’t always visible, and these are not issues that can be fixed by just telling people to get over it or have more faith. There are complex issues that may involve physical problems in the brain (e.g., a lack of dopamine in patients with Parkinson’s disease), which can impact movement, emotions, and cognitive functions. One’s whole system is affected. However frustrating it may seem, know that the person dealing with it is even more frustrated.<\/p>\n
What do we do about it? Be patient, merciful, and kind. Be a help. Be aware. Pray for one another. Let people know you care.<\/p>\n
“Strengthen the weak hands,<\/em>
\nand make firm the feeble knees.<\/em>
\nSay to those who have an anxious heart,<\/em>
\n‘Be strong; fear not!<\/em>
\nBehold, your God<\/em>
\nwill come with vengeance,<\/em>
\nwith the recompense of God.<\/em>
\nHe will come and save you’<\/em>” (Isaiah 35:3-4).<\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Doy Moyer We cannot see what is going on inside someone. That’s obvious, but sometimes our judgments about people assume that everything should be normal for them because we can’t see anything outwardly wrong. If we see them acting in ways we would otherwise expect, we might judge them to be rude, or worse.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[519,97,761],"class_list":["post-89703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-mercy","tag-thoughts","tag-understanding"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":89872,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/internal-issues\/","url_meta":{"origin":89703,"position":0},"title":"Internal Issues","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer We cannot see what is going on inside someone. That's obvious, but sometimes our judgments about people assume that everything should be normal for them because we can't see anything outwardly wrong. If we see them acting in ways we would otherwise expect, we might judge them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12626,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-a-loving-god-send-me-to-hell\/","url_meta":{"origin":89703,"position":1},"title":"How Could a Loving God Send Me to Hell?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tanner Campbell The very thought of Hell is terrifying. Such a thought is an intense provoker for many to repent of their sins and revere the word of the Lord. However, others think little of Hell. For example, you may have heard someone say something like \"how could a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60868,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/measured-to-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":89703,"position":2},"title":"Measured to Us","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you\" (Matthew 7:2). \"Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95885,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-merciful\/","url_meta":{"origin":89703,"position":3},"title":"The Merciful","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy\" (Matthew 5:7 NKJV). Obtaining mercy from God is a great blessing, but God intends to give\u00a0it only to those who believe it is worth giving to others. If we do not become merciful in our character, then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68342,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-judge-is-standing-at-the-door\/","url_meta":{"origin":89703,"position":4},"title":"The Judge Is Standing at the Door","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door\" (James 5:9). Don't forget that the Judge is not off in some distant land attending to more important matters than our words\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86789,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-unto-others\/","url_meta":{"origin":89703,"position":5},"title":"Do Unto Others","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them\" (Luke 6:31). This does not mean: Do unto others as they have done to you. This is not revenge permission. It is acting contrary to revenge, as you would never wish for someone to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89703\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}