Mercy isn’t a savings account.

A man told me he had read the Bible, and decided to show mercy to everyone, then he would be certain God would be merciful to him in judgment. But it doesn’t work that way. Mercy isn’t a savings account. You don’t accumulate “credits” that God pays you in eternity. Mercy is a state of being that comes from Christ’s indwelling presence within you. A lack of mercy would suggest Christ’s character is not being formed in a person, and that he or she doesn’t know Him. The mercy you may show others demonstrates Christ’s influence on your life.