We live in a time when lawn signs tell us that lives matter. The isolation and fear of these pandemic times has led to an increase in suicide. People feel beaten down, worthless. Society in no little part has been built to keep people feeling that way. But our lives matter and our suffering, however profoundly unjust, matters. We work for justice, but need mercy. Martin Luther King Jr. gets invoked often; his words on suffering are needed. He wrote: âA person who constantly calls attention to his trials and sufferings is in danger of developing a martyr complex and of making others feel that he is consciously seeking sympathy. It is possible for one to be self-centered in his self-denial and self-righteous in his self-sacrifice. So I am always reluctant to refer to my personal sacrifices. But I feel somewhat justified in mentioning them ... because of the influence they have had in shaping my thinking.â