But mercy does not always arrive after the danger. Sometimes mercy is the warning that comes before it. Sometimes it is the uncomfortable conversation you did not want to have, the advice you were tempted to dismiss, the uneasy feeling that kept bothering you, the pattern someone kept pointing out or the near-miss that should have made you reconsider what you were doing.

They save somebody in one chapter and betray somebody in the next. They fight for justice but carry bitterness in their hearts. They love deeply while making decisions that hurt the very people they claim to protect. They may do the wrong thing for reasons we understand—or the right thing for reasons that are not nearly as noble as they pretend.

But there is a question we do not ask nearly enough: What happens if the success grows faster than the person carrying it? A blessing can become difficult to sustain when our character is too weak to carry its weight. More money does not automatically create wisdom. More influence does not automatically create humility. More attention does not automatically create maturity. More opportunity does not automatically create discipline.