• Please help people understand motivation for mercy.Self is a strong motivation.You can get almost anyone to do anything for self. Even mercy.Biblical mercy is not about you being the Messiah. (Being like Jesus, but not being Jesus. There is a big difference!)It is not about earning salvation. There is only one Messiah and that is Jesus and you can’t earn your salvation through any amount of good works!I say that because sometimes mercy ministry plays to self-righteousness. I can solve the problems of the world or if I just try to solve their problems my problem with God won't be so big.This is a sure fire way to guarantee failure.• Relationships, relationships, relationships.Giving money and a pat on the head is the easiest way to do mercy ministry. It is also the least effective. When it comes to mercy there’s hardly anything like long term relationships.One of the problems people have when it comes to relationships with those in need is that they get cynical. Oh these people are trying to manipulate us or they are friends with us for the wrong reasons. You need to be honest. That is a self-righteous attitude and the fact is, it reveals an ignorance about yourself and your own motives.You often have mixed motives when it comes to your relationships. Look at your friends. I would guess that many of them look like you, think like you, act like you. We might not consciously think it, but we often make friends with people who are easy for us to be friends with – who make our life easier. That’s not shocking, and then think about how much more tempting it would be to do that if you didn’t have access to the truth. It doesn’t make it right. It does help us understand and be willing to be in it for the long haul. Look for a teachable attitude, a repentant attitude. These are keys.• AVOID ARROGANCE AT ALL COSTS!You are not qualitatively better than the people you are working with. If you have moved ahead, it's grace. I want to say this loudly because some of you are really going to be tempted to think you are better than the people you are working with.One of the subtle ways arrogance shows up is by trying to do everything for the people you are working with. Your goal is not to do everything for people, what they can do, they should do.Another way to check for arrogance - what are you learning from the people you are working with? Seriously. If you are not learning, you are not listening, and if you are not listening, it's arrogance.• Truth is mercy.The most merciful thing you can do for anyone is help them understand the truth. That’s not a lesser form of mercy. It is the ultimate act of mercy. But obviously if you really understand the truth, you are going to care for the person in front of you and the fact is the person in front of you may have some significant issues that need practical, right away kind of help.• Help people understand the difference between Relief, Rehabilitation and Development.(See the book When Helping Hurts...)Most mercy in Africa is focused on relief. That is immediate, short term, crisis solving. Most mercy in Africa needs to be focused on development. Relief is helping in a crisis, rehabilitation is getting to the point where the bleeding has stopped and development is helping people get to the point where they are using their gifts for the glory of God. Relief is probably the easiest honestly because it requires the least out of you and it gets you the most glory. Development is ultimately the most beneficial.