the second thing the good samaritan did was sympathize with people’s pain. it’s not enough to just see their need, you must feel their emotions. you must sympathize with their pain.
the bible says this in luke 10.33 (tev), when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. first, his eyes kicked in. then his ears and his heart kicked in, and he’s filled with pity.
the bible tells us, weep with those who weep. in other words, share their sorrow. enter into their emotion. feel what they feel.
how do you do that? how do i increase my ability to be a more sensitive and more sympathetic person?
if sensitivity begins with your eyes, sympathy begins with your ears. it’s learning to listen. learning to listen is the secret of genuine sympathy. the better listener you become, the more sympathetic you become. sometimes kindness is just listening.
there was this ad that said, “i'll listen to anybody speak about anything for 15 minutes for 20 bucks.” i bet that guy’s making a good living. people are dying to have someone listen to them. that’s why social media is exploding. they want somebody to listen to them.
someone said “when i ask you to listen to me and you start giving me advice and you’ve not done what i’ve asked, when i ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me why i shouldn’t feel that way, you trample on my feelings. when i ask you to listen to me, and you begin to feel you have to do something to solve my problem, you’ve failed me, as strange as it seems. just listen. please. just listen to me. advice is cheap. fifty cents will get you both dear abby and billy graham in the same newspaper and i can do that for myself. i’m not helpless. i may be discouraged. i may be faltering, but i’m not helpless. so please. just listen to me. and hear what i have to say. and if you want to talk, wait a minute for your turn, and i'll listen to you.”
just a thought from the front porch…
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