empathy...

n : the experiencing as one's own of the feelings of another

"...treat everyone as you would like to be treated...this sums up everything the bible says," matthew 7:12.

"what the world needs now is empathy, sweet empathy...it's the only thing that there's just too little of." -hal david, revised by me.

empathy is what we all want when the cop pulls us over for speeding...

“do not judge others, and you will not be judged. for you will be treated as you treat others. the standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. and why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? how can you think of saying to your friend, ‘let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? hypocrite! first get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye," matthew 7:1-5.

"then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye"... when?

WHEN YOU HAVE LEARNED EMPATHY.

"when you can't see past the log in your own eye", you are selfish, self-centered, arrogant and egotistical. you see no problem with yourself, yet you judge everyone around you. how can you "get rid of the log in your own eye"??? by turning the searchlight on your own heart, seeing yourself as equal to everyone else, recognizing your own need, recognizing your own humanity, humbling yourself before the only one who is greater than anyone else - god. when you do those things, you can't help but become empathetic toward others. you will no longer "judge" because you desperately do not want to BE judged.

we all struggle with "judgmentalism" (is that even a word?). why is it so in our human nature to judge one another? i don't know. but, i do know that's why the bible deals so plainly with it. the bible shines the light brightly on all our human weaknesses... not to make us feel hopeless, but to actually show us we need god's help if we are ever going to be anything like what we should be. we cannot gain more empathy on our own. we cannot rid ourselves of our judgmental eyes simply by wishing it so. we need god's help. as always. only complete and on-going surrender to him allows us to view others, as well as ourselves, as we should...

hopeless? no. helpless? yes, definitely, without god's help.




c2010 lorenda houston