There have been a couple of incidences in the last week that have got me thinking....
Can people truly be compassionate and loving?
I think there are folks out there who are. Who exude compassion, empathy, and love. I think my dad is one of them, God bless that man. But in the last week, with all of the people that I come into contact with, I've seen only one person who was truly compassionate; who truly loved. And no, I was not that person. Duh.
It's disheartening to say the least. One person. Out of hundreds?
What I see, instead, is judgment, fear, jokes, and gossip. Is that what our true nature is? When we see someone who is outside our norm-- who dresses differently, who behaves differently, who acts not the way we would act-- we judge them? We fear them? We joke about them? We gossip about them?
I'm not much different, I admit. When I see someone acting crazy, I tend to keep an eye on them. I worry for the safety of those around me and of myself. That's my initial reaction. I had to check myself the other day because I knew the response in my head was not very Christian-like. I don't proclaim to be a perfect Christian. In fact, I'm far from it and pretty proud of that fact. But I did check myself. I wish more people had.
And how do they not? How can you proclaim to be Christian and not check yourself when you know that response in your head is not the Christian response? When you know joking about something is not Christian? When you know gossiping is a sin?
It's difficult being in a Christian-community. We are assumed to have it all together. We are assumed to be the epitome of Christ. We are assumed to love, hope, empathize, etc. That isn't the case. We strive for all of that. And we often fail miserably.
That's what I take away from this week. That we all have room to grow and that maybe these incidences have helped us be more compassionate, less judgmental, more thoughtful in our actions.
I hope so.
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