Compassion for ALL

I was just sitting here thinking how different we all are, and how each of our lives is so valuable and precious, yet so very, very different.  What's important to me may not even show up on your radar, and vice versa.

There's just so much going on.  I like to people watch (from a safe distance!)  Like when we all went to the zoo for Jacob’s birthday.  Doug and Jacob rode the train; I waited for them in the center of the zoo on a park bench and watched the people go by. I always wonder who they are, what they're doing or thinking.  I try to guess; I am probably wrong.

Sometimes I have so much pain in my heart that I want to just scream and yell at the world for going on like nothing is happening when there is so much sadness and pain all around me. 

I just want to MAKE people wake up and pay attention and see that it's not all about them...and it's not all about me.  It's about US.  It's about HIM. It’s about Jesus.  It’s about His sacrifice and our desperate need of being saved.

There is so much going on all over the world…terror and horror and murder and disease and war.  And every single one of those things has something in common:  People.  There are people who are terrorized, and people who are doing the terrorizing.

There are people who are being murdered, and people who are doing the murdering.

There are people, children, parents, friends; people just like you, just like me…suffering horribly at the mercy of some insidious disease…and there are people standing by, just watching, helpless to stop it.

We need to support each other, not rip each other apart!  We need to love one another, and pray for each other, not knock each other down the moment we have a chance! 

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” Romans 12:15-17 ESV

We may have different opinions

or religions

or temperaments

or lifestyles

or personalities

but we are all people; children of God.

It could have been me that had to throw my child onto a helicopter, praying he could be rescued from dying of thirst… It could have been you that was captured by a terrorist group and killed.  It could have been your brother.  Or my father… Or…

^2 “Bear (endure, carry) one another’s burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it].

³ For if any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another’s load] when he is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself.”

Galatians 6:2-3 AMP

Dichotomy

I've just been thinking lately how "at war" I seem to be within myself.  It kind of culminated yesterday when I was doing a Bible study on suffering.  This particular lesson was on satan and suffering.  I guess one thing lead to another and I thought, really, the whole Christian battle is dichotomous, is it not?

Dichotomy.   Paradox.  Oxymoron.  Ambiguity.  Contradiction.

Our "inner being" is selfish and spoiled and wants what it wants when it wants it!  But the Holy Spirit in us, the "new" being, has the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

But there's so much more to it than that, for me anyway.  I am at once extremely merciful and compassionate, yet equally adamant about justice for wrongdoing.  Not that they need to be mutually exclusive, but most times it seems like a person is one or the other.  There is a specific situation I have in mind for this:  take the example a woman in an abusive relationship.  It’s just she and her husband at home; her children are grown.  Yet she chooses to stay.

Part of me says, "Well, she's probably terrified and he's probably threatened her and she feels like staying is the right thing to do so no one gets hurt." (Compassion.)

The OTHER part of me says, "Toughen up!  Do what needs to be done and get out!"  And there is VERY little sympathy in THAT part of me.

Other instances:  I'm sort of healthy for a sick person.  I mean, my blood pressure, cholesterol, kidneys, liver, heart; all that stuff is just great.  But don't ask me to walk uphill in the sand for more than 5 feet because my legs will give out and I'll fall.  

Other people seem to LOOK the epitome of health, yet drop dead.  I knew a man in the peak of health, late 40's, early 50's, ran every day....just dropped dead on a run one day.  

Paradox.

I enjoy living in the country, most of the time.  The open spaces, the country air, the gentle breezes. Watching my son grow up in a way which, in my mind, is the best way a boy can grow up.  Room to run, frogs to catch in the pond, his faithful dog always a step behind him.  Not having neighbors in your face.  No noise pollution.  Clearer skies to see the stars because it's SO dark at night.  The amazing sunrises behind the barn.  The sunsets right outside the living room window that demonstrate God's brilliant love for us.

But then there are the bugs.  And mice.  IN the house.  And the 5 foot snake skin my husband found (still wet from its being shed) in our yard.  And that it takes 10 minutes to get a store that doesn't sell BAIT next to the bread. The fact that a tractor is more important than a car.  The smell.  Of cows and grass and cut hay and dirt and dog poo.  

And the noise.  Whoever said the country was peaceful has never lived where I do. The roaring and clicking of crickets and other insects, and annoying dissonant chords of the tree frogs.  The croaking of bullfrogs, and hammering of woodpeckers. And the birds!!  I love watching them, but some of the most beautiful birds make the ugliest noise!

Contradiction.

I guess my point is that there is simply more to any one person or situation than meets the eye.  So let’s try and show some extra compassion this week.  It may SEEM that you have all the facts, but the situation may be something you’d never expect.

Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 (NIV)

¹⁶ And I saw something else under the sun:

 In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
    in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

¹⁷ I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment
    both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
    a time to judge every deed.”

Why I Fight So Hard

"If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." -Antoine De Saint-Exupery

I can spout off facts and figures til I'm blue in the face, but unless I get people to CARE, it doesn't matter.  I do whatever I can...I make jewelry to sell so I can donate to the MGFA on a regular basis.  I have this blog on which I am very open about my struggles and victories.

I have put videos on youtube where I have bed-head and not a stitch of make up on (and this from a girl who used to not even walk out to the mailbox without makeup on!).  I am willing to embarrass myself and talk about things that 10 years ago I wouldn't even whisper about.

Why?

Because I want people to UNDERSTAND.  I don't want to order them around and tell them to give money here and there or whatever.....I want them to "long for" people with chronic illness and  develop compassion and caring for their fellowman.

Call me a hopeless optimist.  I just have to believe there is more.  That there is better.  That people can love and be decent to one another.  If I didn't have that to hang my hat on, I'd have a hard time holding my head up at all.

Life

Yah, I know, quite the specific title there.

I was just sitting here thinking how different we all are, and how each of our lives is so valuable and precious, yet so very, very different.  What's important to me may not even show up on your radar, and vice versa.

There's just so much going on.  I think about being at the store, or the mall (which I never go to anymore) but just anywhere to watch people.  You think you know who they are, what they're doing or thinking, but do you?  Do you really?

Do you know that the woman buying a new man's dress shirt is buying it for his funeral?

Do you know that the man who bumped into you, who you glared at, is losing his vision, and didn't see you?

Do you know that the woman on the bus with the unruly children just found out she has cancer, and can't imagine what her children will grow up like without her?

Sometimes I have so much pain in my heart that I want to just scream and yell at the world for going on like nothing is happening when there is so much sadness and pain all around me.  I just want to MAKE people wake up and pay attention and see that it's not all about them...and it's not all about me.  It's about US.  It's about HIM.

We need to support each other, not rip each other apart.  Don't always assume the worst of people!  Here's a thought:  if you see someone you think is irritated or grumpy...SMILE at them.  Say hi. Maybe they have a situation you know nothing about and your attitude is not what they need.  It's your compassion they long for.

Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

It really is that simple.

Tough Stuff

"Jesus teaches that human need must always be helped; that there is no greater task than to relieve someone's pain and distress and that the Christian's compassion must be like God's-- unceasing. Other work may be laid aside but the work of compassion, never."
William Barclay

I read this and I was like, YES! That's it! Other than leading people to salvation through Jesus, compassion is the KEY to the kingdom. If we amass huge fortune, but help no one, what good have we done?

If we work very hard and advance ourselves, and educate ourselves, and grow in mind, body and spirit, but cannot improve the life of another, what have we accomplished?

I know this is a very familiar piece of Scripture. Try to read it with fresh eyes.

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.".... And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I Corinthians 13:1-3, 13

Ya know, I keep hearing about churches that are being run as businesses instead of bodies of Christ. Yes, there ARE good churches out there. And if you belong to one, thank God for it. But there are many more that have lost their way. They are worried about the latest technology, the best sound system, the most dynamic speaker, the biggest bank account, the most people.

My sister had gallbladder surgery, as many of you know. Her daughter Jessica called her former pastor, the man that actually married Jess and Daniel. She needed to talk to someone because she was scared. She also wanted to use the church for a bake sale. One day she walked in to check on Lori, watched her pass out on the bed, and thought she was dead. Lori woke to Jessie slapping her face and trying to wake her up. She was very upset, as you can imagine.

After like a week, someone on the staff called and told her she couldn't just "talk" to the pastor. She told them of some of their needs, and the man's reply was "there are a lot of families in need. We can't help them all."

That's the short version, trust me. I was so angry. I wrote the pastor of that church a letter and told him exactly what I thought of the situation Gave him my e-mail address and welcomed any response he may have.

It doesn't matter how much you can offer. Everyone can offer a little. Can you imagine if every single person you know helped one person a day? The whole world would get their needs met.

But we don't. We sit on our collective hands and worry about what people might think if they saw us in a particular part of town, or if we gave a ride to a stranger. I'm not asking anyone to take risks they are uncomfortable with, but to just open their eyes and REALLY look at their surroundings.

Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget or neglect or refuse to extend hospitality to strangers [in the brotherhood--being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for through it some have entertained angels without knowing it."

That's from the Amplified Bible. I usually don't use that version, but I really liked the specifics of this verse. Just think about it. Get out of your comfort zone. You may have the ONE THING that someone else needs. If you never offer, you'll never know.

Compassion

I heard something today that really made me mad. A woman whose husband left her and their child is working THREE jobs, and had to decide to either put gas in her vehicle to get to those jobs, or pay rent. She put gas in her car so she wouldn't get fired. She is now being evicted. She is not on welfare. She called her well-to-do parents to ask for some help, and her mother had a one-word reply: "Sorry."

What? Sorry?? As a mother, I cannot even fathom saying to my homeless child and grandchild, "Sorry." When pressed, the woman said, "Mother, I'm homeless!" To which Mommy Dearest replied, "You are not homeless. The victims of Katrina, they are homeless. The people in Alabama, THEY are homeless."

Wow.

What the heck ever happened to compassion? You know me and my word-nerdy-ness.
COMPASSION: tenderness. Mercy. Concern. Loving-kindness. Benevolence. Grace. Kindness. Goodness. And the one that gets me the most? Humanity.

People are supposed to be different from animals in that they don't eat their young. They're not supposed to ignore them or walk away. They're not supposed to champion Darwin's "survival of the fittest." Humanity. What does make us different?

It's no wonder our society supports animal activism and touts punishing people who abuse animals but find it completely acceptable to kill their own unborn children.

I remember having a discussion with a woman who said she would have stayed with her dog in a flood, and died with it, rather than go with her husband and child, so the dog didn't die alone. Now don't get me wrong, I'm an animal lover. I have 3 dogs. But they are animals. This woman would have chosen her pet over her child. I have a problem with that.

How did we get to value human life so little? How is it that we have no compassion for our fellow man? See a homeless person? "Oh, he must be a drug addict. He deserves it." Someone using food stamps? "Must be lazy and have 12 kids by 12 different men." See an overweight person using a walker, cane or wheelchair? "If they weren't so fat and lazy they could walk on their own."

People, I IMPLORE you. Look beyond the facade! Why can't we assume the BEST until we know differently? Instead of judging someone, here's an idea: HELP THEM. And if you're wrong? Well shame on them. But YOU doing good didn't hurt YOU one bit.

Look around you. Won't you PLEASE find just ONE person you could help today? Compassion. Don't just read this. Walk it out.