The language is direct and should not be softened: despising your neighbour is explicitly called sin. And the person who shows mercy to the poor is called happy — the same word used in the Beatitudes. Compassion is not optional; it is obedience, and it carries blessing.
Memory phrase: Show mercy. Be happy.
Talk about it: What does it mean to despise someone, and why is that sin?
Prayer: God, give me a heart full of mercy.