Showing Empathyنموونە

The Good Samaritan

The story of the Good Samaritan is one that’s familiar to people whether they’re Christians or not. It’s a story about a man, who happened to be an “expert in the law” (Luke 10:25 NIV). Later in the verse, he asked Jesus a question that was meant to test the Messiah: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

In true Jesus fashion, He responded to the question with a question, “What is written in the law?” (Luke 10:26 NIV) And the “expert” responded: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind,’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27 NIV). The man knew the law, but needed clarity on just who this “neighbor” is. 

At this time, Jesus went into the story about a man who was beaten by thieves and left for dead on the side of the road. Two men of God, a priest and a Levite, both passed him by. Then, a Samaritan—who was despised by the Jewish people—came near, and when he saw the broken, beaten man, he felt pity for him. But he didn’t stop there—he actually did something about it.

In today’s language, what the Samaritan did for the man would be equivalent to us seeing a wounded person, putting them in our car, and driving them to the local emergency room. Then, once they’re bandaged and doing better, we take them to a hotel in order to heal and rest, and we stay that night to help. If that’s not enough, we give the hotel manager more money to provide anything else the wounded person may need, and offer to reimburse him for any extra expenses. 

That’s a lot for just one person, isn’t it? It is. That was an incredibly generous donation of time, emotions, and money. But this is what empathy does. Empathy brings inconvenience, disruption, and complication to our lives, and simultaneously ushers in peace, purpose, and joy. Yet, sometimes we don’t make an effort because there are so many needs in this world. We don’t have to help everyone, nor can we. Let’s just help the next wounded person we see.

If you find yourself truly not grasping how to live empathetically, here are some ways to help adjust your mindset so that you can see the needs in front of you:

• Pray daily, “God, give me Your eyes to see who’s hurting near me."
• When you hear that someone is going through a challenging time, imagine that you’re the one going through that. Your heart will soften, and as it does, find a way to help lessen their burden with a prayer, kind word, or selfless act.
• Make a regular habit of just listening to people without offering any words. As they talk, seek to understand what’s happened in their past and is currently happening in their present that’s led them to where they are now.