there are some who...

There are some who, upon entering into the world of those suffering, allow their heart to become callous.  They justify away the needs of others so that their own comfort zone and control can stay put.  Their opinion of how the other should be presenting their sorrow trumps, and listening with their heart is lost.  This allows their own self centeredness to win, stepping on the one suffering in the process.

I have been guilty of this

There are some who, upon entering into the world of those suffering, allow their emotions to rule- they give and they give and they give with no boundary or thought.  Pretty soon, they are all given out and burnt out.  In their burn out, they feel the weight of how they failed.  It’s a helpless feeling, really- you’ve given all and it is still not enough.  The failed opinion of self becomes the focus.  It becomes easier to shy away from reaching into the world of the suffering because of your perceived failure, and once again, self-centeredness wins.

I have been guilty of this

There are some who, upon entering into the world of those suffering, allow their Christian Jargon to fill the room…’I’m so sorry, I’ll be praying for you’, even going to the extent of praying for the person right there. All the right words are said in the prayer but empathy and heart are missing- you move on without really hearing the suffering  person because you are too consumed with trying  to control how much time you spend with the them- your busy and need to get onto the next task on your list .  Your focus of self, what you think you should be doing, your to do list and tasks are what is most important and once again, self centeredness wins.

I have been so guilty of this

There are some who, upon entering into the world of those suffering, allow the Lord to direct their steps- they allow the Lord to direct their thoughts and their time- they allow the Lord to fill them continuously with His love so that they may share it with others.  They come into contact with the precious suffering soul and breath hope and healing into the places that sorrow has broken.  They give, not in a way that drains them, but in a way that fills them and the one suffering….They focus on Jesus, who is the giver of love and empathy, and trust His leading in their life.  Self is not recognized as leader but instead Jesus is.  This is the easiest for the Christian to 'say' they are but the hardest to be. 

Lord Jesus, please help me to become this way.