So a week or so back, something happened to me. It involved some dishonesty, relationship issues and the like. Details are left out to protect the guilty :) (i'm kidding)
I started to wonder why I wasn't more upset at what this person had done to this other person. And it hit me--I had done practically the same thing about two years ago. I wasn't angry because I figured if he had gotten to that point, thing were probably pretty messed up in his life. I had this rare glimpse of what I think is meant by compassion.
I feel sorry for people often--the way that you maybe pity a person who is begging on the streets--a distant, far off kind of sympathy. When I was young, my mom used to tell me I had a bleeding heart (I remember thinking how scary that sounded...for a while I really thought something was wrong with me.). I would always want to give poor people spare change, or send money to the orphanages that were advertised on television. I remember during one canned food drive at school, I wiped out our pantry...I think I even took in the evaporated milk. My mom thought I was nuts (and was pretty pissed off). But, I've always felt sorry for those less fortunate than I am.
I think compassion is different than pity. I think compassion is a feeling of understanding that we are all so messed up and broken. Realizing that our relationships get torn apart, we do crazy things, hurt people all in a desperate attempt to heal our brokenness. It's universal, it's human.
Compassion is up close and personal because brokenness is universal. We realize that we are all one step away from self destruction. We have compassion for others because we know our lives are messy, are filled with heartaches, and failed dreams. We have compassion for others because we've hurt people too, because we've made terrible decisions with awful consequences. We have compassion for others because we, too, carry the burden of being human, of wanting to make wiser choices, and yet, still making poor ones. Compassion is knowing that any turn of events could put us in the same circumstances as our neighbor--that our lives are really not that different, that our defensive responses, and self-preserving attitudes are the same.
So maybe we live in a bigger house (or smaller one), or drive a nice car, or have a fancy title at the end of our name (esq. :-))...we are still human, we still need a Savior every day. And our human-ness is what unites us, and what commands us to be compassionate. We recognize ourselves in the struggles of others, in the success and failures of others, in the attempts to fix and control things ourselves, in the ways we long for acceptance, in our desire for lasting relationships, and in our longing for love.
This whole idea of compassion has just really hit me recently. For me, it means cutting people some slack, not being so quick to pass judgment. Because, honestly, chances are good I've done the same thing, or will at some point. I can be just as cruel, as joyful, as deceptive, and as whatever-else as the next person. We are all so broken and we act in ways that protect ourselves. And the brokenness that we all share creates the space for compassion. It's not about feeling sorry for people, but instead recognizing how desperately we need Jesus.
I started to wonder why I wasn't more upset at what this person had done to this other person. And it hit me--I had done practically the same thing about two years ago. I wasn't angry because I figured if he had gotten to that point, thing were probably pretty messed up in his life. I had this rare glimpse of what I think is meant by compassion.
I feel sorry for people often--the way that you maybe pity a person who is begging on the streets--a distant, far off kind of sympathy. When I was young, my mom used to tell me I had a bleeding heart (I remember thinking how scary that sounded...for a while I really thought something was wrong with me.). I would always want to give poor people spare change, or send money to the orphanages that were advertised on television. I remember during one canned food drive at school, I wiped out our pantry...I think I even took in the evaporated milk. My mom thought I was nuts (and was pretty pissed off). But, I've always felt sorry for those less fortunate than I am.
I think compassion is different than pity. I think compassion is a feeling of understanding that we are all so messed up and broken. Realizing that our relationships get torn apart, we do crazy things, hurt people all in a desperate attempt to heal our brokenness. It's universal, it's human.
Compassion is up close and personal because brokenness is universal. We realize that we are all one step away from self destruction. We have compassion for others because we know our lives are messy, are filled with heartaches, and failed dreams. We have compassion for others because we've hurt people too, because we've made terrible decisions with awful consequences. We have compassion for others because we, too, carry the burden of being human, of wanting to make wiser choices, and yet, still making poor ones. Compassion is knowing that any turn of events could put us in the same circumstances as our neighbor--that our lives are really not that different, that our defensive responses, and self-preserving attitudes are the same.
So maybe we live in a bigger house (or smaller one), or drive a nice car, or have a fancy title at the end of our name (esq. :-))...we are still human, we still need a Savior every day. And our human-ness is what unites us, and what commands us to be compassionate. We recognize ourselves in the struggles of others, in the success and failures of others, in the attempts to fix and control things ourselves, in the ways we long for acceptance, in our desire for lasting relationships, and in our longing for love.
This whole idea of compassion has just really hit me recently. For me, it means cutting people some slack, not being so quick to pass judgment. Because, honestly, chances are good I've done the same thing, or will at some point. I can be just as cruel, as joyful, as deceptive, and as whatever-else as the next person. We are all so broken and we act in ways that protect ourselves. And the brokenness that we all share creates the space for compassion. It's not about feeling sorry for people, but instead recognizing how desperately we need Jesus.
The entire law is summed up in a single command: "love your neighbor as yourself." If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
-Galatians 6:14
-Galatians 6:14
1 comment:
loved reading this.
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