Thursday, February 02, 2006
PITY
So let me share with you a situation. I am sitting in what feels like a demon stronghold, like Frank Peretti's "This present darkness". It feels 'dark' and my soul feels suppressed by some unseen things. I am at work. It's a place that highly values spiritual things, but not in the way that Christians do. They admit that religion is very important and the spirit is undeniably a part of all of us and should, no, must be taken care of. The way that we interact with the cosmos and the psyche; the dance of the body-soul-rhythm; the tearing down of the patriarchal father etc..
In this place there sits to my back a woman. She is aged (gracefully). She is having surgery at the end of the week. She cries, everyday, but I can't understand why. Surgery is not a big deal to me, even though I am thick regarding these sorts of situations, I know that my response would be 'If God wants me home, so be it. If He needs me to live on for a while, oh well, I'll make the best of it.'
The utter hopelessness coming from her is really scary to me. She has no family, only a 'boyfriend'. When we met for the first time, she bowed to me, hands together, in tradition of an eastern religion that escapes me (maybe taoism). She is softspoken, yet I have heard the 'f-word' come out of her (I was standing behind the door as she walked into the room, she apologized). Her eyes show a life of being beaten down, oppressed, abused.
I would tell her so many things yet, somehow, I wonder what good it would do. If I say that I will pray for her, that means nothing particularly 'Christian' anymore. If I tell her that my God knows her and will be watching over her, I wonder if that may be a lie. So, for now, I hug her and tell her that it is good to cry because it releases chemicals that reduce stress. I tell her that I go to church, and that I believe in helping the oppressed.
I wonder if she feels the compassion I have for her, or is it pity? Because I think, maybe, if it was compassion I would offer her rest. If compassion, a Savior. Compassion, Jesus. See, Pity is simply feeling sorry for someone. Compassion is doing something about it. ¶ 3:18 AM
So let me share with you a situation. I am sitting in what feels like a demon stronghold, like Frank Peretti's "This present darkness". It feels 'dark' and my soul feels suppressed by some unseen things. I am at work. It's a place that highly values spiritual things, but not in the way that Christians do. They admit that religion is very important and the spirit is undeniably a part of all of us and should, no, must be taken care of. The way that we interact with the cosmos and the psyche; the dance of the body-soul-rhythm; the tearing down of the patriarchal father etc..
In this place there sits to my back a woman. She is aged (gracefully). She is having surgery at the end of the week. She cries, everyday, but I can't understand why. Surgery is not a big deal to me, even though I am thick regarding these sorts of situations, I know that my response would be 'If God wants me home, so be it. If He needs me to live on for a while, oh well, I'll make the best of it.'The utter hopelessness coming from her is really scary to me. She has no family, only a 'boyfriend'. When we met for the first time, she bowed to me, hands together, in tradition of an eastern religion that escapes me (maybe taoism). She is softspoken, yet I have heard the 'f-word' come out of her (I was standing behind the door as she walked into the room, she apologized). Her eyes show a life of being beaten down, oppressed, abused.
I would tell her so many things yet, somehow, I wonder what good it would do. If I say that I will pray for her, that means nothing particularly 'Christian' anymore. If I tell her that my God knows her and will be watching over her, I wonder if that may be a lie. So, for now, I hug her and tell her that it is good to cry because it releases chemicals that reduce stress. I tell her that I go to church, and that I believe in helping the oppressed.
I wonder if she feels the compassion I have for her, or is it pity? Because I think, maybe, if it was compassion I would offer her rest. If compassion, a Savior. Compassion, Jesus. See, Pity is simply feeling sorry for someone. Compassion is doing something about it. ¶ 3:18 AM
