Mercy rejoices against or triumphs over justice, says James, and this is primarily true of God’s goodness to us in the gospel, but it is also something wonderful that occurs in his people. Justice is something glorious and God will display it eternally, but it forms the backdrop to an even more wonderful virtue – mercy. To restrain anger, for the sake of another who will gain far more by that restraint, is to deny ourselves something that we may have a right to. The one who restrains himself seeks to be a worker together with God. God’s mercy is always linked to his transforming power at work in the object of his mercy, so that although they are not worthy of mercy initially and even despise it, they come to the point where they fully appreciate it and give thanks for it. We do not have the same control over other people’s hearts when we restrain our anger, but we work in reliance on God and pray that he would by his grace do what we are unable to do as we act in a way that aligns with his gracious purpose. We see something more valuable in the redemption of a wayward soul than in the exercise of revenge or strict justice.