Yesterday's post asked for you all to give me one word to inspire a post. This request came with a reminder that my thoughts will not be your thoughts (sound familiar? (Isaiah 55:8) ((this is by NO means putting me on the same plane as God Almighty-I can't even get off the ground floor)) I am thrilled with the words you have texted, emailed, commented on Facebook and in the comments on this blog page. My mind is whirling with ideas ~ Thank you! Not too late to send me a word by any means!
A dear friend and faithful reader immediately replied
The wheels immediately went into overdrive. Compassion is one of those words that loses its luster without action. Another great example is the word LOVE. Without some action of compassion, the word becomes an empty word on a page - a bunch of random letters placed together .
The prefix "com" means together. The suffix "ion" means act or process. "Pass" means move or cause to move in a certain direction. Place these all together and you definitely do not have an inactive word taking up space on the page or filling the air waves with sound. You have the action of "together ~ the act of moving in a certain direction . There is nothing but action in that word!
If I tell you I have great compassion for the poor, does it really mean anything unless I take SOME action to demonstrate my compassion? When I first read the suggestion, I thought, "Compassion takes action". There is no sitting still in the quiet in compassion.
If I told you I loved you, but did nothing more than tell you this day after day, would it really mean anything? Our children know we love them without it ever being said because of our actions toward them. If we love someone, we reach out to them, care for them, serve them, look toward them and on and on. Without some action to show our love, it becomes an empty phrase thrown in the air without much meaning. Compassion works the same way. If we tell someone we have great compassion for them, but do nothing to show our compassion, we have thrown out void words to make us feel better.
As I thought this over, I was reminded of Job's friends. They had compassion for all Job had lost. Perhaps their words were poor choices, but there was no doubt as they came and sat with him that it was an act of compassion. This should go down in history as the first poor choice of things to say in times of great loss. A good lesson in perhaps the most important thing to do is stand beside those we have compassion for. If you think the story over, things were going really pretty well considering the circumstances until they felt the need to expound on the reasons for Job's losses. There is no doubt, even with their need to fill the empty air with their words, the friends had great compassion for Job. They were there ~ they had taken the time and effort to come and be with their friend.
SO--the next time you declare compassion for someone or some group, do not forget to put action behind that statement. There are far too many these days who enjoy filling the airwaves with empty words. Put some meat behind yours!
"Finally, all of you,
be like minded,
be sympathetic,
love one another,
be compassionate and humble."
I Peter 3:8
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Compassion IS active and ongoing, Lulu. I love how you gave this example in Job's friends; their presence was much more important than anything they could find to say.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Doesn't God amaze us with His lessons from long ago that are timeless!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
You're a brave soul to put this invitation out there, Lulu! But you're also a very wise, godly woman and I know that your responses will be spot on.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful idea!
I have had some wonderful words sent to me. Trying to go with my initial thoughts--but we will see!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, My Friend!