Date: Tuesday, March 24th
Scripture: James 2:13 
“Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
By: Dr. Rodney D. Smalls, Pastor, Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, Harrisburg, PA
Being a bi-vocational pastor has afforded me many experiences. Oftentimes, these experiences force me to take a deep look at the injustices taking place in our nation. One particular encounter has been forever etched in my spirit. I was performing an exam on a late twenty something mother when we began to talk. She began to relay how anxious she was at being in the hospital. This was yet another time she was being admitted after multiple illnesses. She was concerned as to how her and her husband were going to pay for it all. Because of her medical problems she was unemployed, and her husband was underemployed. They had no medical insurance. As a result, their family of eight was homeless. They currently lived in a shelter. Sadly, as she told me, he made too much for financial assistance, yet not enough to keep a roof over their heads. To say the least, I was taken aback at her predicament.
If that wasn’t bad enough, what she continued to say truly broke my heart. With tears in her eyes and angst in her voice, she relayed how she needed to be discharged as soon possible. She was concerned for her children coming home from school because they had been victims of bullying. The school bus picked them up and dropped them off at the homeless shelter and the children were bullied as a result. As I tried to absorb it all, she kept saying how she just wanted to be home for her kids. At this point, my heart sunk. I felt helpless, for all I could do was offer her an ear to bend, and the touch of my hand.
This is the reality of life for the poor in America. This is their story; a story being lived thousands of times each day by members of all races, creeds, and cultures. While it would be so easy for us to judge others for the choices they make, we would be wise to first hear their story, walk in their shoes, and see the world through their eyes. Before we judge anyone for the choices they make, we need to understand the majority of Americans are one crisis away from disaster. Our Lord never judged anyone for the predicament in which they found themselves. He only came to serve. As Scripture reminds us; “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Prayer: Lord, Open our ears and our hearts to the stories of others and grant that we may balance judgement with needed mercy. Amen.
Criminal Justice Fact: The UN guidelines for the treatment of prisoners released in 2015, prohibits the use of solitary confinement for more than 15 consecutive days,prohibits solitary for women, children, and prisoners with physical or mental disabilities, and states that solitary should only be used as a last resort.
Action: Read this article in the Penn Live Patriot News about the state of solitary confinement in PA.
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/09/should-prisons-use-solitary-confinement-advocates-condemn-it-officials-say-there-is-a-need.html
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