One thing missing among Christians to day.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING DESPERATELY MISSING AMONG CHRISTIANS TODAY




Something seems to be missing in our culture, in our churches, in our relationships. Maybe its an american thing or maybe its the broken world full of sin that we live in.

Without this, relationships become more about me, getting what I want, getting my needs met, and totally neglecting the person who we chose to spend the rest of our lives with…or so we thought.

Without this, we don’t feel the need to change our ways when our sin hurts another person.

Without this, its easy to pass a homeless person as we indulge in our dinner that is probably way more then we actually need.

Without this, we never fully realize the impact of our actions on others.

Without this, we never fully grasp Jesus’s guiding principles when he spoke about the great commission or when he said to love your neighbor as yourself.

Without this, we stop paying attention to each other, we become so focused on our responses and our rebuttals that we totally ignore what the other person is trying to tell us.

So what am I talking about?

Empathy

Now empathy is not the same thing as sympathy.

Sympathy is acknowledging another person’s hardships and providing comfort and assurance.

Empathy is when we feel for what another person is going through because we either have gone through something similar or we can put ourselves in their shoes.

I simply think that we don’t empathize with people enough. I know we can’t always entirely empathize with what another person is going through.

For example, I have no concept of what its like to be physically abused by a family member. I have never personally experienced it.

However, when someone comes to me and tells me that they have been physically abused, I can still feel empathy because I do know what that person must be feeling. Probably feelings of sadness, fear, loneliness, and despair.

I have felt all of these feelings, I’ve felt sad when I lost my grandpa, I have felt fear when my biological mom dropped me off at an orphanage, I have felt loneliness when I first moved to college all by myself, and I have felt despair when I battled a disease that I thought I would never heal from.

You see, God has given each one of us these emotions and although our experiences might be slightly different, they still elicit the same feelings we have all experienced.

I think we simply are so busy with our own lives that we don’t take the time nor give our full attention needed to feel empathy towards others.

Our minds are so filled with our own lives, our own needs, and our own desires, that there is no room left to think or even empathize for others.

I challenge you today to incorporate more empathy for others in your life. Take the time to really listen to someone, imagine that their story can teach you something, and open your heart so that you can begin to really put yourself in another person’s shoes.

“Compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous…” -1 Peter 3:8

“Rejoice with those rejoice, weep with those who weep.” -Romans 12:15