#Struggles “CAREless”
You’re running late for work…you pass a car broke down & see a family stranded on the side of the road. “There’s plenty of cars around…surely someone else will stop…I am late after all”. You make it to work 3 minutes late (thankful no one noticed). At lunch you notice someone at the front holding up a long line of folks digging for change to pay for their order—“Surely they brought money in before they came…I’m going to be late getting back to work for lunch”. That person walks out of the store empty handed. The day is almost over…one stop at the grocery store to grab one more thing to make dinner just right. You see a man put a can of soup in his jacket—“Why is he stealing…there on sale 3/$1 after all”. This can be a picture of what we see every day. All around us are others at their lowest, but do we see them or do we just walk past them and move on? It’s easy to do, but as we grow to be like Jesus what did He do to not be CAREless and how can we do the same?
- Compassion REQUIRES ACTION (1 John 3:16-18)
- The hardest thing about making a difference is when the rubber meets the road. It’s one thing to talk about making a big impact and other to live a life that makes a big impact! The latter requires action!
- With the rise in Social Media the body is actually changing. Studies are showing that the brain releases more dopamine (which can lead to addiction) in individuals who are involved with Social Media. In a Selfie Centered world the body is actually rewarding itself by promoting itself on Social Media.
- Compassion INTERUPTS (Luke 8:40-44)
- Jesus was on His way to get some rest and the crowds “overwhelmed” Him and yet 2 people interrupted His path from one place to the next. Isn’t that crazy…of all of the people there 2 people interrupted Jesus & they were able to encounter Him!
- In our world we have so much information it’s hard to process tragedy…especially on a timeline. It goes from happiness and sadness to tragedy and back to happiness. We can move on quickly without having to feel. Compassion helps us to see the blessings in interruptions.
- Compassion COSTS (Luke 8:45-46)
- Jesus shows us here that it will costs us to be compassionate about others. In this whole story the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak was healed and Jarius’ daughter was brought back from the dead!
- It’s so easy to have a feel good story by clicking like or a link instead of actually caring about the individual. Look at recent tragedy(ies) and how easily folks can get behind them and yet when the next tragedy strikes everyone moves to that one instead of actually walking with others through the tragedy (and it’s aftermath). That costs time…and yet it’s one of the biggest reward there is to give someone your time.
- Compassion CHANGES LIVES (Luke 8:47-48)
- At the end of the story, the woman was not only healed she was able to talk with Jesus and learn that her faith that He is who He says He is lead to her being healed. Imagine what she did after that…TELL EVERYBODY! The impact was greater than just that moment!
- The craziest thing about compassion is that it not only changes the lives of those around you but in turn changes yours. When you talk to someone who is a mentor or coach one of the most often used phrases is that “They have taught me more than I could have ever taught them”
Take Away:
- Everyone think of something you feel bad about not feeling bad about. Then, take turns finishing the sentence, “I couldn’t care less about _____.”
- Who is someone you love who could really use some actual care this week? What will you do to reach out to them?
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Tyler West 