Blessed Are the Merciful

Today I'm covering the fifth Beatitude which reads, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy." Matthew 5:7 (NRSVUE)

Mercy is intertwined with sin, judgment, and forgiveness. Without sin, there would be no need for mercy. Being merciful is showing forgiveness and compassion towards someone who has wronged us.

We're all recipients of God's mercy and that means we should show mercy to those who rightfully deserve punishment.

Mercy doesn't mean we deny that a wrong or sin has been committed but it's extended to someone instead of judgment.

How Can We Apply This to Pickleball?

Every time I see the word mercy in the Bible I think of Cobra Kai and their motto: “Strike Hard, Strike First, No Mercy!” 

This is often the attitude a lot of athletes take when playing a sport. They want to dominate their opponent by being the first to score, score often, and have total victory.

When I started playing pickleball there were a lot of people who were much better than I was. They could have crushed me but instead, they showed mercy and continued the point so that I could get a little more experience.

Instead of ending the game and moving on to a better match, they took the time to show me how to improve my game. 

Now, when I play with less experienced people I do the same. I smile, enjoy each point, offer advice (if they'll accept it), and even offer to play with them again.

It's this welcoming and merciful attitude that keeps people coming back to the courts to play just like God's unending mercy keeps us going back to Him when we sin.

Pickleball News

High schools in Maryland now have competitive pickleball. In a report from WBAL, Bryan Lloyd of the Dill Dinkers sees high school pickleball as a conduit for student-athletes to play in college where pickleball is also becoming more popular.

Pickleball Tip

This week's pickleball tip comes from PrimeTime Pickleball and is about speed-ups. Specifically, how and when to speed up the ball.

The biggest takeaway for me in this video is to the ball low so your opponent has fewer options when dealing with the pressure you're applying by speeding up the ball.

Closing Remarks

Next week we’ll cover the sixth Beatitude that deals with purity so make sure you’re following the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you liked this podcast share it with a friend and don’t forget to stay out of the kitchen!

Music: "Electrodoodle" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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