Romans 12:8
Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Study Note
Study Note
The gifts of 'exhortation,' 'giving,' 'ruling' (leading), and 'shewing mercy' listed in Romans 12:8 belong to the charismatic distribution of gifts that Paul elsewhere develops in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4, here focusing on the community-building and administrative charismata. The qualifying adverbs — giving 'with simplicity' (haplotēti, without hidden motives), ruling 'with diligence' (spoudē), showing mercy 'with cheerfulness' (hilarotēti) — describe not merely what is done but how it must be done for the gift to serve its God-intended purpose. The emphasis on 'cheerfulness' in mercy-showing corrects a grimly dutiful approach to compassionate ministry, suggesting that joyless mercy fails to communicate the grace it is meant to embody. The verse has been important in Protestant theology of vocation and in discussions of the relationship between spiritual gifts and natural abilities.
Other Translations
or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting: he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
or he who is exhorting--`In the exhortation!' he who is sharing--`In simplicity!' he who is leading--`In diligence?' he who is doing kindness--`In cheerfulness.'
He who has the power of comforting, let him do so; he who gives, let him give freely; he who has the power of ruling, let him do it with a serious mind; he who has mercy on others, let it be with joy.
Cross References
For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the …
But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that …
For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand …
Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of …
And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and …
And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, …
Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall …
If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.