September 27, 2024

                                       Help Others

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

– 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Compassion. Kindness. Prayers.

We will go through hard times. It might be a hurricane that takes away our material possessions. It might be power outages and damage to our home. It could be a broken heart caused by the death of a loved one or a marriage that falls apart. It might be an illness or accident that sends your life down a path you never chose.

Why? That’s the question we all ask. We know that God turns all things to good if we give it to Him. (Romans 8:28) But what does “good” look like? 

Sometimes it’s strength to get through whatever we’re facing. Sometimes it’s peace in the middle of whatever happens. And sometimes good looks like walking beside people who are going through what we survived.

There’s a certain kind of compassion that comes when you’ve been there. It’s not about empty words – however well meaning – or platitudes. It comes from the heart of someone who has made the journey.

God uses people like you and me. Someone from church called me after I was diagnosed with cancer. She had no idea I had cancer. She called about something else. We had a beautiful conversation about God’s faithfulness. She’d walked the road I was on. She understood.

As Christians we are part of a fellowship, a family, that helps others. We have our church family, of course, but we also have others to help. We are called to serve. That’s what Jesus told us to do.

Sometimes that looks like taking a meal to someone who is sick. It might be mowing someone’s yard or changing a light bulb. It could be providing transportation to a doctor’s appointment or including someone who is alone in your holiday celebrations.

And sometimes it’s simply showing up and walking beside someone who is in the midst of hard. Compassion. Kindness. Prayers. We hurt so that one day we might be able to help someone else going through what we once faced.

August 30, 2024

                          Pray for Others

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. – Ephesians 6:18

Hard looks different on each person wearing it. Some people wear it with grace and humility. Others use hard as an excuse to lash out. Still others wear hard like a mantle of defeat.

A couple with a severely disabled son sometimes comes to high school football games. They sit next to us, flanking the power chair that holds the son who can’t communicate or do for himself.

We first met them when we arrived to discover them in our seats. The woman informed us that we could sit in their seats. My husband, who has trouble walking and getting up and down, said no. We have seats on the end of the aisle for a reason. They have hated us ever since.

I have come to dislike the times they come. She refuses to speak or even acknowledge us. They live hard every day. I get that. But it isn’t an excuse to lash out and expect others to accommodate your hard.

The Holy Spirit has really put on my heart to pray for them. Really pray for them. Not just words but from my heart. To acknowledge their hard and lift them up.

A sweet lady I know had a stroke recently. She almost died. Her daughters and husband were weighed down with hard. They still are. They praise God for her life and that she still knows them. She is healing but life is still hard. I pray for them as they navigate hard.

A woman struggles to find a job with insurance. A husband works long hours to provide for his family. A child struggles to fit in. Another family deals with abuse and secret alcoholism. A woman drives herself to the hospital for surgery because her children and grandchildren are too busy to help. I could go on and on. They are all dealing with hard. They all desperately need to be lifted up in prayer.

Hard looks different for everyone. Sometimes it’s obvious. Often it isn’t. We shouldn’t assume that our hard is worse than someone else’s hard. We don’t know their circumstances. We don’t know what they face day in and day out.

Paul tells us to pray for people. God knows their hard. God hears our prayers. As I pray again for this couple and their son, I ask the Spirit to fill me with compassion and them with strength as they navigate their hard.

August 25, 2024

                    Start With Love

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

– Leviticus 19:33-34

They walk. They swim. They come by boat or cargo truck. They sacrifice everything, sometimes even their lives, to seek something better for themselves, their children and their extended families.

We don’t know their stories. We don’t care. We see the illegal crossings, the financial burden, the “threat” to what we erroneously see as ours. Our hardened hearts demand a stop to it all.

We are Christians.

Some conservatives rush to explain the Hebrew words and talk about illegal aliens and what this scripture really means. They are “justifying” hatred and lack of compassion.

Some liberals hurry to use these two verses as a reason to open the border completely and demand that our government provide unlimited money to help them all. Isn’t that what God would want, they ask.

Love. Maybe that’s the key word. Love. God loved us enough to send His Son to die on a cross for our sins. God is love. Jesus told us to love God and to love our neighbors.

But evil has dulled our senses to the point of hatred to all those who aren’t like us. We see it in the racial divide. We see it in the difference in neighborhoods and bank accounts. We “need” to be financially better than others. We “need” for everyone to be like us. We “need” to justify our hatred that we direct toward people we don’t even know.

This is a complicated issue with many, many points of view. Do we need to do something? Absolutely. But do not mock God by claiming faith and then turning away from those created in His image. In all things, show love and kindness and compassion. That is what God requires from us.

December 29, 2018

There Is Hope

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. – Lamentations 3:21-26

Some days throw you down, stomp all over you, and lead you to a path you never planned to take. It doesn’t have to be a bad path. Sometimes change is good. But change isn’t easy. In fact, it can be hard and scary.

Have you ever known fear? Have you felt that racing heart, the sweaty palms, the frantic mind that threatens to consume you? It comes to most of us, whether we admit it or not.

Some people are consumed with fear at the thought of giving a speech. Others turn clammy during a job interview or a first date. Some people panic when they board an airplane. For others it’s a roller coaster or talking to a friend or co-worker about a disagreement.

When life seems more like a whirlwind that will consume us, we can take a deep breath and remember that God’s faithfulness never ends. No matter what else is going on, He stands with us. Our hope is found in Him, not the circumstances of our day.

We live in a frantic-paced world that tells us we must have it all right now. There is no pause button. There is no time to take a deep breath and just be. We have to keep moving forward or, surely, we’ll slide back to where we don’t want to be.

His compassions are new every morning. What does that even mean? God is sympathetic. He shows us pity and concern. He cares about our sufferings and misfortunes. He wants to help us. And therein lies our hope.

It’s that hope that reminds us good always follows the bad if we’ll only trust in God. It’s that hope that assures us God cares about our suffering and will carry us through until the light dawns again. It’s that hope we cling to in the midst of what sometimes seems like a never-ending storm.

Then one day the world shifts and hope dawns. Change comes. It’s scary and right and we are at once determined to grasp it mightily and to turn away from possible heartbreak. It’s that bridge between hope and fear. God is there.

We are not called to fear. We are not called to second best or the leftovers of someone else. We are called to the light, basking in God’s glory as His privileged children.  He is faithful.

I don’t know your story but I do know this: God can be trusted. When the darkness threatens to consume you, when fear gives you pause, look toward the light. That’s where you’ll find your hope.

August 27, 2018

We Can Help Others

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

God never wastes a hurt. I’ve heard that said so many times but I don’t think I ever truly understood until now. When we give our hurts to God, He uses them and us to comfort and guide others.

I always thought I understood what being a caregiver was all about. I didn’t have a clue. I slid into the role without fully realizing what was coming. It’s a good thing. I’m not sure I could have done it if I’d known the heartache that was to come.

I’ve learned medical terminology and how to operate the machine that dispenses IV fluids. I have learned about medical directives and hard waiting room chairs and the fatigue of day after day without leaving the hospital. In other words, I get it.

People turn to me even as I pull back from offering an opinion or advice. The hard truth is that experience has taught me what questions to ask. I know when to panic and when to just let it go. I know about surrendering a hopeless situation to God. I understand about letting go.

Compassion is hard won in the game of life. We learn to ache with others because we have felt their pain. Some people have a natural empathy. Most of us try and fail. Until we’ve walked the same road. Then we get it.

It’s true with family and friends. It’s also true with medical personnel. There is a real difference between a nurse who has known suffering and one who has only seen it. That doesn’t mean they aren’t both kind. In a perfect world, they are. It simply means that one will shed a tear with you because she truly understands.

Last year my cousin and I traveled more than two hours away to see her critically ill daughter. The hospital staff was among the best I’ve ever experienced. They asked my cousin hard questions. They were kind. They were compassionate.

And when my cousin couldn’t understand, when her heart couldn’t grasp the words, she looked to me. I shared my journey and the words settled her. There’s something about someone else walking your path and surviving that gives you hope that you, too, will survive.

Another friend monitors medications and keeps a daily record of blood pressure and insulin and weight. It’s a routine most don’t understand. You can’t skip a day. Ever. Here’s an example: If you gain four pounds overnight, you’ll probably get upset and vow to eat better. If a heart patient gains four pounds overnight, it could signal an impending cardiovascular crisis. Sudden weight gain is a major sign of trouble in someone with Congestive Heart Failure.

People who’ve never walked the path can’t grasp endless doctor appointments with  the primary care physician and assorted specialists. They can’t grasp the home health visits that can total seven or more separate visits each week by different people. Everything has to be coordinated by someone and that someone is you.

There are no words to describe the moment you realize the person you love most will never go home again. All you can do is cry and cling to someone who gets it, to someone who has been there, to someone who truly understands your heartbreak.

I am grateful when I can help someone else navigate this devastating journey. I wish I didn’t understand but I do. God uses that hurt to help others, turning something awful into something good.

June 21, 2018

What Does Your Heart Say?

“Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” – Mark 7:15

“For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

– Mark 7:21-23

What would you do to save your child’s life? Would you move? Would you scrape together all the money you could to afford something different? Would you break laws, take chances, risk everything, so your child could be safe?

Be honest. It’s just between you and God. Tell Him what you would do to save your child from death, torture, a life of crime and violence. Now tell parents from another country that they shouldn’t dare do that for their children.

The immigration issue in the United States is awful. There are no easy answers. Should our country protect its borders? Absolutely. Should people enter legally rather than violating our laws? Without a doubt.

Unfortunately, there’s more to the story. These are human beings with thoughts and feelings. They are people who, in many cases, are filled with fear and a desperation few can understand.

According to news reports, the average time for a person to come before an immigration judge is two years from the time of application. That works great if you’ve got the time. But what happens when the cartel tells your child that he now works for them and if he says no he will die? Do you hang around and wait for his death? Do you tell him to join hands with a life of violence? Or do you flee with a hope deep in your heart that God wants something better for your family?

I don’t have any answers for our country. No one seems to be able to solve this mess. Maybe we should start with being Jesus to people who are hurting. Maybe we should extend mercy and grace and compassion to people who are desperate. Maybe we should love before we judge stories we’ve never heard.

We are further traumatizing children who have been through so much. Can you imagine what it’s like to leave everything you know, fearing for your life, not knowing when you will eat or have clean clothes, only to reach safety and find yourself ripped apart from your parents? How can we call that okay?

Some argue that we’re trying to keep murderers and rapists and other violent criminals from our country. That’s obviously a good thing. But how many fit that description? Really. It’s far more likely that most of the people are good, decent folks. They aren’t criminals. They’re desperate people reaching for our crumbs and we are denying them without even trying to understand.

Maybe we need to expedite the immigration process. How many judges does it take to reduce the two-year wait? Yes, it costs money. But how much money are we spending on housing people in locked facilities? Isn’t it better to hear their cases and make decisions based on facts?

There is just so much hate in our country right now. Much of it comes from people who claim to know Jesus. I am appalled at the venom spewing from their mouths. Surely, they understand what the Bible says about love, about judgement, about mercy. But their lives don’t reflect it. Their words don’t reveal love.

Jesus says that evil comes from our hearts. What is your heart saying to the world?

May 14, 2018

Don’t Miss the Real Lesson

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

– Colossians 3:12

We didn’t have much of a Sunday School lesson yesterday. At least not officially. It’s not that I wasn’t prepared. I was. It was because some Sundays there are more important things than the “lesson.”

One of our classmates was in tears. Sadness oozed from her broken heart. Another person was in physical pain. Nothing seems to bring relief. Yet another deals daily with the impact of her son’s unwise choices. It was Mother’s Day and that special day is forever changed because of his choices.

A pastor once told me that our class was different. I didn’t fully understand what she meant until I tried to organize meal delivery for someone in another class. The couple were desperate for relief as she fought what turned out to be a futile battle against cancer. I was amazed and appalled at those who weren’t willing to step up and help on that sad journey.

Our class has taken food, provided physical support, helped clear yards, and done a multitude of other things. Yes, we tend to help one another rather than others. We are working on that. But we are a family in the truest sense. We share one another’s joys and accomplishments. And we bear one another’s burdens, holding each person near as needs arise.

One member joked that yesterday was fellowship day. Maybe it was. It’s how we’ve grown so close over the years. We don’t just bring the happy stuff in the door. We bring it all. Everyone is met with kindness and compassion, with a caring ear and, when the need is there, physical help.

Not everyone sees it that way. Isn’t that always the case? We have a few members who are all about the “lesson.” They resent anything that takes them away from the teaching I’ve prepared. They want to study Scripture and history and prayer. All that is well and good but sometimes I think they miss the point.

Jesus told us to love God first and then to love others as ourselves. How can we do that when we aren’t willing to hear their sorrows and carry their burdens? Life isn’t all about being happy. I wish it was but that’s not reality. Sometimes life hurts. Who shares that journey with you?

The hard truth is that when we shut down people who are hurting, when we refuse to make time to hear their sorrow, we push them away from God. There’s a difference between enabling and encouraging drama and self-pity and really listening to someone struggling to stay afloat. As children of God, we are to pray for discernment and, when in doubt, err on the side of compassion.

We’ll finish our official lesson next week. It’s not going anywhere. But those hearts, well, I’d like to think they’re a little lighter because of the encouragement and love they felt in that classroom.

February 15, 2018

Be Careful How You Judge

There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. – Deuteronomy 15:11

Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered. – Proverbs 21:13

She is a good person. A prayer warrior. Someone who is generous with friends and family. She is quick to smile and devoted to her church.

She only turns ugly when it comes to the poor. She has no sympathy or compassion. “They should get a job,” she spews out. “If they couldn’t afford children, they shouldn’t have had them! I’m not going to support them.” Need I go on?

This is a woman who went from her Daddy’s house to her husband’s house. She has never, ever supported herself. Her “work” has been to sometimes help her husband at their business. Her child is an adult. And, yes, she hires someone to clean her house.

I’m not faulting her for her life. As I said, she truly is a wonderful person. But that hard heart!? It sure does dull her testimony.

Before you fault her or justify her words, take a moment to consider yourself. We are all a product of our upbringing, our place of birth, our choices. Our personalities weigh in, with some people weathering storms with little impact while others are destroyed. Why the differences? Does anyone but God know?

Have you ever had someone tell you to “get over” something? Have you ever cried out at the unfairness of heartbreak or job loss or misdirection? Have you ever begged God for answers, for help, for comfort during the storm?

We’re not so different, you and I and those we condemn for their station in life. I doubt they chose to be poor or homeless or addicted. It doesn’t make them bad people. It doesn’t make them lazy. Some of the hardest working people I know work more than one job trying to feed their families and keep a roof over their head. One illness, one extra bill, can send them on a spiral to financial disaster.

Where is our compassion? Why do we think we somehow have the right to judge their story when we have walked a different path? Where is the grace and mercy God has shown us?

I am not excusing those who truly are too lazy to work. I’m not telling anyone to enable someone in the throws of addiction or bad decision making. What I am saying is that none of us have the right to judge someone else’s story.

Watch your words. If it isn’t kind, don’t say it. Be careful how you judge. Let the world see Jesus in what you say and do.

May 4, 2016

Show Kindness and Compassion

“In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer. -- Isaiah 54:8

I am so grateful for God’s kindness and compassion. Every day I fail Him and every day He takes me back.

I try to remember that when I am called to show that same kindness and compassion to others. I want to remember they deserve from me what God has given so graciously.

Yesterday I was at a large super center. Not by choice, I might add. I really do try to avoid the place, sometimes paying more for an item just so I can get in and out of the store quickly. But there are times when you really have no other options.

I mention this because of what happened at the cash register when I paid for my item. The cashier rang up my purchase with ease. Then she accidentally hit the wrong key, telling the computerized register I‘d paid with a $20 instead of a $10.

An easy fix, right? She got her calculator out but she couldn’t figure out how much money she owed me. She was beginning to get really flustered.

I looked at the couple behind me. They looked at me. “I think it’ll just be $10 less than what the screen is showing,” I told her. She worked it on the calculator and a big sigh escaped. “That’s right.”

Panic averted. She handed me my change and I headed out the door. I have no idea how it worked out when she turned in her cash drawer but I hope her bosses understood.

She was trying, you know? She really was. I admire that. The way she got so flustered I had to wonder if she’s been put down for mistakes in the past. Were their times when words have battered her self esteem?

How many times have I not been kind when someone didn’t meet my expectations? How often have I thrown off a comment without stopping to consider where and how it would land?

What about you? Do you consider your words when faced with frustrations? Do you condemn or do you show compassion? It’s something we all need to think about.

April 5, 2016

Kindness Always Matters

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. -- 1 Peter 3:8-9

Were you popular in school? Were you part of the “in” crowd or did you find a special group to call your own? Did you ever feel left out?

Cliques are abundant in school. Really, they’re abundant everywhere. We see them in our churches. And we see them in the senior centers that dot our area. I don’t think cliques were part of God’s plan.

The local senior center is all about card playing. That’s wonderful if that’s something you enjoy. If not, well, you’re just out of luck. No one really wants to have anything to do with you unless you play cards.

Of course, some people love to play cards but as they’ve aged their abilities have declined. What happens when they can’t play as well as they once did? A dear neighbor has faced that. Her mind just isn’t what it once was. Playing cards is one of the few things she still enjoys but most people won’t play with her anymore.

Ah, the competitiveness of winning versus the compassion of playing with someone who can’t play so well anymore. Which would you choose? Most of the people choose not to play with her.

I understand why. It’s hard to think constantly for someone else even as you’re having to think for yourself. It takes the fun out of playing. Are you willing to sacrifice your time to be kind to someone else? Or do you want to play with your friends and let her be someone else’s problem?

There are so many things you could do at a senior center. You could play other games. Some people participate in crafts and one center even offers painting classes. Those big rocking chairs are there for a reason. We used to find joy in sitting around and talking. Whatever happened to that?

People who are declining in health as they age still have feelings. They might not be able to do the things they once did, but they still hurt when faced with rejection. It’s like not being chosen when we were all in grade school. Some things really never change.

At the end of the day, what really matters? Who won at cards or who showed compassion? Don’t make choices for the moment when all eternity beckons us to make choices that will matter forever.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Show Mercy, Compassion

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

-- James 2:12-13

How easy it is to line up and condemn those who have done wrong. We look at them with our superior attitudes and tell each other that those people got what they deserved. Some even applaud.

We are so busy condemning that we can’t see ourselves and what we’ve become. We’re so certain of ourselves, we can’t show compassion. We fail to realize that we could make the same mistakes. We could stumble and fall. Next time, it could be us.

Recently a local businessman, a former lobbyist and a former state legislator were sentenced to prison. They each plead guilty to charges stemming from bribery and a casino project. Some would say it was politics as usual and they got caught up in it. Others say it’s the corruption of gambling. Everybody’s got an opinion.

What I don’t hear is a lot of sadness. Three men with wives and children, with families and lives, are going to prison. It’s never cause for celebration. And don’t crow too loudly about what they “deserve.” Because we deserve death and eternal separation from God. Yeah. We don’t like to think about that.

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

-- Luke 6:36

We see it everywhere. Someone makes a mistake and the crowd is quick to condemn. Someone makes a wrong choice and the line grows long with those happy to say “I told you so.” We forget about mercy and compassion. We forget that we’re just as human -- and imperfect -- as they are.

Look in the mirror. Have you led a perfect life? Be honest. And remember that God knows all your truths. Oh, I hear you. Sure, you’ve made mistakes but nothing serious. Nothing as bad as those other folks, you‘re quick to say. Are you sure about that?

Because sin is sin in God’s eyes. And the sin of judgment is pretty serious, indeed. The Bible tells us that God will judge us based on how we judge others. It sure puts mercy in a different perspective, doesn’t it?

So don’t celebrate a tragedy. Pray for these men and their families. Be kind in your comments. Show mercy with your actions. Treat them as you want God to treat you.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

 

God Judges Differently

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. -- Ephesians 4:32

Recently I read a wonderful book by Karen Kingsley titled This Side of Heaven. It’s about a young man who never met the expectations of his parents and others who loved him. He was a disappointment to them and he knew it.

After he died unexpectantly, they came to know the person he really was. He was the man on a limited budget who still managed to buy and deliver groceries each week to his elderly neighbor. He was the man who always had time for visits with his special needs neighbors, letting them borrow things when they needed to. He was a man struggling with severe pain that was caused when a car driven by a drunk driver hit him as he shoved two teenagers out of the way. He was a hero to everyone but those closest to him.

He wasn’t wealthy. He didn’t have a college degree or a proper career. He didn’t have a fancy car or a house in a nice area of town. But his kindness to others reflected his heart. That was something those closest to him couldn’t see because they were so busy judging him for what he was not.

How many times do we do that with people we know? We look down on them because we don’t believe they’re achieving their potential. We criticize them because they aren’t meeting our expectations. We have a better plan, a more successful way, a different path for their lives. Why won’t they listen?

Maybe they are listening -- just not to us. Kingsbury said she wrote this book as a tribute to her brother David, who was someone others were disappointed in. He died early but before he died he came to love Jesus with pure joy. Like her character in this wonderful book.

What’s more important: financial success or loving God? What’s more important: owning lots of expensive things or showing kindness and love to those around you? We judge things far differently than God. We judge people far differently than God.

The next time you’re tempted to look down on someone, deciding they aren’t what you want them to be, think about it. Then look in the mirror. Or, better yet, get down on your knees and ask God to give you a heart for compassion and kindness and to forgive you for judging others by worldly standards.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Show Compassion

But Abraham replied, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

-- Luke 16:25

Another day, another nasty comment from yet another "superior" Christian. Why do we always assume that someone who is struggling financially isn't a good person or has done something wrong?

This economic downturn should have shown us all how easy it is to lose all your material possessions. We should learn from sudden illnesses and car wrecks and job losses and all the other things that can come out of nowhere and derail our lives. But we don't. Or at least some of us don't.

We assume that if someone is on unemployment then that person is too lazy to work. Maybe that's so. But probably the person can't get a job or is too torn down to even try anymore. We just know that a person who is working should have health insurance. If they don't, it's their fault for not having a better job. We can't believe that battered old car we pass on the side of the road. Everybody knows you've got to do regular maintenance on a vehicle to keep it running, no matter how many jobs you need to work to come up with the money.

Yeah, we are a nation of know-it-alls. But what's especially disturbing is that so many of those know-it-alls claim to be Christians. They say they know Jesus. But their hard hearts say something totally different. Share a smile and a little kindness with a person who is struggling. If you can safely help, go ahead. Replace instant criticism with compassion. Let people see Jesus in you.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Let People See Jesus In You

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." -- Colossians 3:12

Paul certaintly set high standards for all of us, didn't he? I guess he wanted us to strive to be like Jesus. That's a good thing. It's just that in order to do that we've got to understand the meaning behind those words.

What exactly is compassion? The dictionary says it's a feeling of pity that makes us want to help or show mercy. So if we're compassionate we should want to help others and, indeed, we should help them. We should refrain from hate and unkind words and instead show Christ's mercy -- just like He has shown us mercy.

Paul also calls us to kindness. Most folks probably think they're kind. They would likely insist that they can be gentle and considerate in how they treat others. Sure. Most of us can be kind. But are we? Did you let that big SUV in front of you today when everyone was merging in to one lane in that road construction area? Did you hold your tongue when the neighbor's children messed up your flower bed while they were playing ball? Did you show kindness to the waitress who mixed up your lunch order or did you treat her to an attitude? Kindness isn't just for the people closest to us. It isn't just something we do in church. Kindness matters most when we use it in how we treat all people we encounter in our day.

All that talk about attitude brings up another one of Paul's subjects: humility. The dictionary calls humility a humble condition or attitude of mind. Okay. So what is humble? Having or showing a modest estimate of one's own importance. Not being proud. Not being large or showy. Being of low social or political rank. In other words, not tooting your own horn and thinking yourself superior to others. That certainly goes against what we're being taught to do in today's world. Of course, humility might make us get along with each other a whole lot better. That could only be good.

Next, Paul mentioned gentleness. We're to be mild, moderate, not rough or severe. Another kind of gentleness is when a horse trainer gentles a colt. I would imagine we could calm a great many situations by being gentle instead of harsh. What do you think?

Paul left patience until the end. I don't know if he did it intentionally or not. Patience is the calm endurance of hardship or annoyance, inconvenience or delay. It's also perseverance. It's easy to be patient when life is going exactly like we want it to and people are doing exactly what we want them to do. Of course, when does life ever go exactly as we planned? There will always be a long line at the grocery store when we're running late. A co-worker will always need to talk when we're facing a tight deadline. The kids will always be rowdy when we've got a headache. The list goes on and on. We can't change life's imperfections. We can change how we react. We can take a deep breath, say a quick prayer and respond with patience instead of anger and frustration.

Paul gave us some pretty awesome advice. Putting it into practice on a daily basis isn't easy. In fact, I don't think it's something we could ever do alone. It's a good thing we don't have to. Jesus gave us a good example of how to live and how to treat others. He's right there beside us, guiding and strengthing us, as He walks us all the way home .