Show Some Pity!

 

"For this is the message you have heard from the beginning:  You should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own actions were evil and his brother's righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.  Anyone who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.  This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"  I John 3:11-17

 

You have been there.  You are turning off an interstate- or into  Wal-Mart, and there sits someone with a sign, "Hungry.  God Bless."  What is your immediate response?  Is it compassion or irritation?  I have been guilty of both!  There are times that my response is a discompassionate, "For pity sake's get a job!"  Other times, I feel like the Lord would have me meet their need. 

It is good to use wisdom and prudence in choosing where we show generosity and sow seeds of blessing. In fact, our very safety could be in jeopardy in these situations.  But we need to guard against clumping everyone together as "good for nothing" and closing up our heart of compassion.  If we have adequate or greater resources, it is a gift from God.  If we truly see ourselves as stewards of the resources God has given us, it should not surprise us when he calls upon us to disseminate his resources to those in need. 

God is a compassionate and gracious God.  It hurts him when people are lacking, hungry, cold and down and out.  Because he resides in us, we should share in the heart and emotions of God.  If you check yourself and find that you frequently feel unmoved by others' plights, begin to cry out to God to stir up the love on the inside of you.

Dear Lord, help me to share in your feelings and emotions.  Let me see the needs of  the world through your eyes.  Help me, Lord, to hear you and be led by you in instances when I am confronted with possible need.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri