Moving with Compassion

[2bme]

What is wrong with us? All of us includes me. I have to say that it's something we haven't really considered important as it should be. Although we are aware it has a place in our life, it's mostly been overlooked as one of the most crucial components of our human nature. It's also something we still lack in understanding academically. It's our emotions, yes our feelings and how we direct them. But not just that. How we express our emotions for other people so they can know they are not alone in their feelings.

(Empathy)
[Ενσυναίσθηση" (ensynaísthisi)
The Greek word for empathy is "ενσυναίσθηση" (ensynaísthisi). The term has its etymological roots in Greek, derived from the word "empatheia," which combines "en" (meaning "in") and "pathos" (meaning "feeling" or "emotion"). In its original Greek form, "empatheia" conveyed the idea of understanding and feeling into the emotions or experiences of others.]

Have you noticed how we've created a society that is driven to feel good all the time? (Solely seeking that dopamine reward) We are also encouraging the people we care about to seek the same. Do you think that expressing real empathy is being able to feel as other people are feeling in their moment. If we only care to answer a call that makes us feel good, then how can we deal with a bad call when it comes through. Treating those bad feeling's in our society as an enemy. Something to avoid at all cost, something to cancel out and something we are afraid of facing in ourselves.

 

[Matthias]

Sin and separation from God our Father is what is wrong with us.

The Father himself provides the remedy: the ideal man -> the Messiah, Son of God. Sin forgiven. Heart changed. Our Father reconciling us to himself.

 

[quietthinker]

It really took a long time to wake up to the reality of what is going on with the human condition. What is wrong with us? All of us includes me. I have to tell you that it's something that we as a race haven't really considered as important as it should be. Sure we know it has it's place, and sure we're all well aware of it. But it's been mostly ignored as one of the most crucial components of our human nature. Our emotions, yes our emotions. Not just having emotions, but having them for other's (Empathy) in Greek means to be aware of other people's emotions. Their feelings and what they feel and not just what we want to feel. Have you noticed how we seem to be driven to feel good all the time? We don't like it when the people we believe we care about feel bad. Do you think maybe that having empathy is also being able to feel bad when other people are feeling bad? Maybe the problem with our humanity is that our obsession to feel good, and that everyone we love must feel good never gives us a chance to learn how to feel through the bad things. We've forgotten how to feel for others in the situation they're feeling. So we try to force them to feel good anyway we can so we don't have to feel bad with them in that moment. Because bad feelings are so misunderstood in our society as something to avoid, something to cancel out, and something we are afraid of.

Compassion is the fruit of seeing that one has been treated with compassion.

 

[Aunty Jane]

What a lovely thought provoking thread…..

It really took a long time to wake up to the reality of what is going on with the human condition. What is wrong with us? All of us includes me. I have to tell you that it's something that we as a race haven't really considered as important as it should be. Sure we know it has it's place, and sure we're all well aware of it. But it's been mostly ignored as one of the most crucial components of our human nature. Our emotions, yes our emotions. Not just having emotions, but having them for other's (Empathy) in Greek means to be aware of other people's emotions

So true….but understanding why our lives are so difficult helps to see where God is taking the human race down this road, and why it was necessary.

It is actually natural for us to feel “sympathy” for the plight of others who are in distress….it doesn’t speak well of our humanity if we are devoid of such feelings.

But doing something about it is another thing entirely. There is a difference between “sympathy” and “empathy”….feeling for someone going through something you have never experienced is one thing, but empathizing with someone because you have been through something similar is much a stronger feeling and allows you to comfort someone, knowing that you have been there too. It allows them to open up and share feelings that you understand. To be heard and comforted is all some people need.

Have you noticed how we seem to be driven to feel good all the time? We don't like it when the people we believe we care about feel bad. Do you think maybe that having empathy is also being able to feel bad when other people are feeling bad? Maybe the problem with our humanity is that our obsession to feel good, and that everyone we love must feel good never gives us a chance to learn how to feel through the bad things.

We are actually designed by God for a whole other life….one where feeling good and being joyful were to be the ‘norm’…..but we lost that life, and we are now reaping what our first parents left as an awful inheritance for us….a bit like a huge debt that they left for their children to pay….so huge that no one ever had enough to cancel the debt.
This life is then the actual opposite to the one God intended for us, so no wonder our feelings are all over the place…..we have been sold into slavery….but a benefactor has come along to cancel the debt for us, guaranteeing that the life were were meant to live, will be given back to us.

We've forgotten how to feel for others in the situation they're feeling. So we try to force them to feel good anyway we can so we don't have to feel bad with them in that moment. Because bad feelings are so misunderstood in our society as something to avoid, something to cancel out, and something we are afraid of.

The world promotes an empty kind of happiness, fueled by material things that are supposed to make us feel good, but some of the most miserable people in the world are the richest….and some of the most important things in life cannot be bought…..love, health and genuine friendships.

Jesus said that ‘happiness comes from giving’ but the world promotes the opposite…..”getting” more and more material possessions means forgetting about others and concentrating on yourself…then people wonder why true and lasting happiness escapes them.

You are so right….when people feel bad there seems to be no solution to their problems, and getting through the tough times seems impossible……but Jesus warned that in these last days…’the love of the greater number would grow cold’…..no one really cares about how to help their fellow man to get through the tough times, which seem to be getting worse every year. Quality of life is disappearing and the world doesn’t care. The rich get richer and more selfish as the homeless situation goes from bad to worse every day. It is heartbreaking to see single parents struggling to feed their children, often evicted from their homes and living with their children in their cars! Parking lots become home for the night. How can this be allowed to happen in nations where so much money is spent on killing people, rather than helping the living.

God is about to step in and change everything, so that we can get back the life that we lost. The life lessons we have been subjected to will force people to go one way or another….we are showing God every day who we are…..compassion for our fellow man is summed up in the story of the Good Samaritan….have we learned the lesson?

 

[2bme]

Sin and separation from God our Father is what is wrong with us.

The Father himself provides the remedy: the ideal man -> the Messiah, Son of God. Sin forgiven. Heart changed. Our Father reconciling us to himself.

Sure, but we'd still have to be whole emotionally. Jesus is a perfect example of how he was moved with compassion for others. Right? You couldn't just believe in Jesus and not resemble his empathy for others.

 

[2bme]

What a lovely thought provoking thread…..

So true….but understanding why our lives are so difficult helps to see where God is taking the human race down this road, and why it was necessary.

It is actually natural for us to feel “sympathy” for the plight of others who are in distress….it doesn’t speak well of our humanity if we are devoid of such feelings.

But doing something about it is another thing entirely. There is a difference between “sympathy” and “empathy”….feeling for someone going through something you have never experienced is one thing, but empathizing with someone because you have been through something similar is much a stronger feeling and allows you to comfort someone, knowing that you have been there too. It allows them to open up and share feelings that you understand. To be heard and comforted is all some people need.

We are actually designed by God for a whole other life….one where feeling good and being joyful were to be the ‘norm’…..but we lost that life, and we are now reaping what our first parents left as an awful inheritance for us….a bit like a huge debt that they left for their children to pay….so huge that no one ever had enough to cancel the debt.
This life is then the actual opposite to the one God intended for us, so no wonder our feelings are all over the place…..we have been sold into slavery….but a benefactor has come along to cancel the debt for us, guaranteeing that the life were were meant to live, will be given back to us.

The world promotes an empty kind of happiness, fueled by material things that are supposed to make us feel good, but some of the most miserable people in the world are the richest….and some of the most important things in life cannot be bought…..love, health and genuine friendships.

Jesus said that ‘happiness comes from giving’ but the world promotes the opposite…..”getting” more and more material possessions means forgetting about others and concentrating on yourself…then people wonder why true and lasting happiness escapes them.

You are so right….when people feel bad there seems to be no solution to their problems, and getting through the tough times seems impossible……but Jesus warned that in these last days…’the love of the greater number would grow cold’…..no one really cares about how to help their fellow man to get through the tough times, which seem to be getting worse every year. Quality of life is disappearing and the world doesn’t care. The rich get richer and more selfish as the homeless situation goes from bad to worse every day. It is heartbreaking to see single parents struggling to feed their children, often evicted from their homes and living with their children in their cars! Parking lots become home for the night. How can this be allowed to happen in nations where so much money is spent on killing people, rather than helping the living.

God is about to step in and change everything, so that we can get back the life that we lost. The life lessons we have been subjected to will force people to go one way or another….we are showing God every day who we are…..compassion for our fellow man is summed up in the story of the Good Samaritan….have we learned the lesson?

I thought of adding more detail and examples to my OP, but left that for the reader and or posters. Like you mentioned a connection between our feelings and our impulsive shopping mall society. Filling our lives with material possessions to keep feeling good. I was actually thinking about naming the thread title (To have to much of a good thing)

 

[TLHKAJ]

Excellent post @2bme, and very relevant for the times we're in. The close we get to things winding to a close here, the more we need to keep this in mind. Love is at the center of everything we are called to do .... love God, love others. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. We are to consider others before ourselves. Weep with those who weep, mourn with those who mourn. But one of the signs of the last days is that because iniquity abounds, the love of many will grow cold.

 

[TLHKAJ]

I thought of adding more detail and examples to my OP, but left that for the reader and or posters. Like you mentioned a connection between our feelings and our impulsive shopping mall society. Filling our lives with material possessions to keep feeling good. I was actually thinking about naming the thread title (To have to much of a good thing)

Your thread title is perfect. It brings an old song to mind....

 

[2bme]

Excellent post @2bme, and very relevant for the times we're in. The close we get to things winding to a close here, the more we need to keep this in mind. Love is at the center of everything we are called to do .... love God, love others. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. We are to consider others before ourselves. Weep with those who weep, mourn with those who mourn. But one of the signs of the last days is that because iniquity abounds, the love of many will grow cold.

I've had this thought floating around in my head for a while now. That people are not going to be comfortable with living in heaven in comparison to what they love here on earth. When I think about a heavenly abode. I would think that everyone would be equal, I would think everything would be shared, I would think that no-one would pose any authority over anyone else.

So how would people adjust in a place like that if they never strived to foster that in the here and now?

 

[Aunty Jane]

I've had this thought floating around in my head for a while now. That people are not going to be comfortable with living in heaven in comparison to what they love here on earth.

Why do you think God went to all the trouble to create a beautiful place for mortal humans to live if it wasn’t going to be permanent?
Heaven is already occupied by myriads of angels, who were all created to live there….but God created humans to live on earth….and their population was to be achieved through reproduction, not direct creation.
Does God give us a reason for our location?

When I think about a heavenly abode. I would think that everyone would be equal, I would think everything would be shared, I would think that no-one would pose any authority over anyone else.

I think you are probably right, but nevertheless, those who inhabit the heavenly realm still have rank and order. Some Angels are called Seraphs and others are called Cherubs, still others are simply referred to as “messengers” which is what the word “angel” means.

All are subject to God, but the Archangel Michael is the Commander of the angelic forces.
The son of God is himself subservient to the Father. (1 Cor 11:3)

The first rebel was not human.…so free will is the possession of all of God’s children…..so choices can be made that have unwanted consequences.

So how would people adjust in a place like that if they never strived to foster that in the here and now?

Perhaps those who live on earth had to learn along with their heavenly brothers what obedience to God means and what disobedience leads to….? An object lesson has been given to set things straight….to teach all the value of doing God’s will instead of our own……even Jesus knew the value of that. (John 6:36; Luke 22:41-42)

 

[2bme]

[If you enjoy my content, please feel free to buy me a can of dog food. You'll be helping me while I am living on the streets, and no I don't have a dog]

 

[PGS11]

Suffering is a part of life its how we learn and grow in spirit.

How many have done what Christ asked us to do in the parable of the sheep and the goats.

The Sheep and the Goats​

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.


34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’


37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’


40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’


41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’


44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’


45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’


46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

 

[quietthinker]

[If you enjoy my content, please feel free to buy me a can of dog food. You'll be helping me while I am living on the streets, and no I don't have a dog]

What's your story 2bme?

 

[Aunty Jane]

[If you enjoy my content, please feel free to buy me a can of dog food. You'll be helping me while I am living on the streets, and no I don't have a dog]

This is sad 2bme….what has led you to this point in your life? There are soup kitchens in Melbourne I assume? Do you have some kind of employment? If not, is there a reason? No family to help you out or is your username also an explanation?

Does your agnosticism result from past “church” experience?

 

[Manasseh]

Christ tells us that we should love God our Father with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. And of course, our neighbor as our self.

David was a man after Gods own heart. David tells us that he sought the face of his God morning, noon and night. We are told in another place, that we must believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. David was a diligent seeker of God. He was indeed, a man "seeking" after Gods own heart.

The heart of God is where we will find this compassion of which you speak. And only in the heart of God. Only when we can begin to see God as He is, His love, His tender mercy, His patience and His power, and ourselves as the pitiful creatures for which Christ necessarily died, the miserable, ignorant, wretched individuals we truly are, only then will we find the love for our neighbor that we are commanded, not encouraged, but commanded to give, not just to our neighbors, but our brothers and sisters in Christ.

How do we find Gods heart? How do we come to know our own hearts? There is truly only one way to know God, His mind His will, and His power to love. We pray. We diligently seek His face in prayer. That is all. Its important to be faithful, to be obedient, but the strength and the will to do so, again, will only be found in prayer, which is where we come to know the Godhead, intimately, as we are already known to Him.

We can study the bible day and night, attend church regularly, share our faith, go to seminary, give of our time and our resources, we can be regenerated, reborn, renewed, and still not know the heart of God.

Most of us unless we are very young, have probably been in love by now, maybe even more than once. We know what its like to love someone so much, to be so appreciative, so blessed to have them in our lives that we can't wait to be around them, we want to spend every spare moment with them, we hang on their every word, eagerly await every phone call, every text, every touch.

The fact is that most of us would say that we love God. But there are not many of us who can honestly say, that we love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. There can only be one reason for this, well, two actually. Either we have never truly known Him. Or we have not diligently sought after Him.

There is one activity in the life of a believer that leads to true spiritual growth, that makes victory over the flesh and sin possible, that will without fail, bring us into the heart of God, and allow His love to flow through us and into this fallen world. Its our prayer life.

We can have a lousy prayer life and still be a believer, but we cannot love God or our neighbor in the way that God desires, without spending time in His presence.

If there is nothing more precious than time, where and how we spend our time, if we are honest, will reveal what we love the most. And as much as it saddens me to say this, it is clear that their are very few of us who love God more than anything else. In fact, if we measure our loves by time, our love for God is pretty far down the list.

If we want to be transformed into a person who delights in God, knows His will, and does it, there is no other way, but to spend as much time as is possible, in His glorious presence.

 

[Manasseh]

[If you enjoy my content, please feel free to buy me a can of dog food. You'll be helping me while I am living on the streets, and no I don't have a dog]

If I wasn't currently broke and homeless myself I would send you something 2bme.
I'm sorry you don't live nearby, I would fix you a nice dinner at my storage unit. For now all I have to offer you are my prayers. God bless you and keep you safe.

 

[2bme]

This is sad 2bme….what has led you to this point in your life? There are soup kitchens in Melbourne I assume? Do you have some kind of employment? If not, is there a reason? No family to help you out or is your username also an explanation?

Does your agnosticism result from past “church” experience?

I'm being satirical. I'm fine for the most part.

 

[2bme]

What's your story 2bme?

I have no idea.

 

[Aunty Jane]

I'm being satirical. I'm fine for the most part.

So it was a sympathy ploy….? It worked…. I was really feeling for you as a fellow Aussie….
Do you have a particular brand of dog food that you prefer?

 

[2bme]

So it was a sympathy ploy….? It worked…. I was really feeling for you as a fellow Aussie….
Do you have a particular brand of dog food that you prefer?

Yes I do. Master's Best.
[For every dog lover you can't pass-by master's best. Packed with 11 essential minerals and vitamins for a healthier and happier pet, who'll love the robust flavours of real quality meat that will even make it's owner jealous. When you think of the best, think Master's Best]