As far back as I can remember, I have loved to read. If I could get my hands on something to read, I’d sneak it in every chance I got. Not much has changed. Right now I’m in the middle of a really great fiction novel. I won’t give away the plot twist ( I hate when people do that), I’ll just tell you the opening. A father witnesses a terrible accident that could send his son to jail. He has to decide how to handle the situation. Does he do the right thing and turn his son in? Does he cover up the crime to protect his son? What about his own future? How will his actions affect his marriage, his job, or even his mind?
Immediately this book had me in my feelings. It forced me to look at myself as a parent and then look at the decisions of my own children. It made me ask what I would do if faced with the same tragic circumstances. Believe it or not, it wasn’t black and white for me. I knew it should have been, but the gray areas formed quickly in my mind. To my surprise, I found myself rooting for the father and his son. When that happened I had to ask myself what made me do that! I had all the facts– the good, the bad, and the ugly. Certainly, I understood that there were consequences for their actions. Then it hit me.
Compassion: sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortune of others.
I used to think that people can’t understand what they haven’t experienced. I came to this conclusion because of the countless times people seem oblivious to the pain of others. How many times have you seen people get angry with someone or pass judgement for doing the exact same things they themselves have done? When a young girl gets pregnant, her character is suddenly called into question. When a man is sitting on the corner begging for help, he is immediately labeled as lazy or a drunk.
Compassion is the cousin of forgiveness. It doesn’t ignore, condone, or absolve wrongdoing. Compassion causes us to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes. I think we forego compassion because we see it as being complicit in a person’s end results instead of simply looking at how the situation began or who it affects. Like forgiveness, compassion is about you first, not the offender or the person suffering. Compassion makes you evaluate who you are internally. It takes in all that you believe, what’s right and wrong, and how you want people to see you, and then it goes a step further. Compassion enters your name in the Google search of life and looks for times when your actions didn’t line up with what you believe. It pulls up the pain and suffering you have caused others. Lastly, compassion gently reminds you of the lowest days of your life and the grace that God gave you.
I’m really enjoying this book. The characters are so much like the people I see everyday. Every situation wasn’t their fault and they own up to the ones that were. I’m hoping that no matter how the story turns out, someone will grant this father and son compassion. More importantly, I hope that I will intentionally share compassion. Everyone has a story that could use a little compassion. What’s your story?
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1-2
Strengthen. Heal. Empower.
Image by Chris Greene
