Do you ever find yourself too busy to show compassion? I do. Often. And then God reminds me what’s really important.
Our Day Off
Wednesdays are our day off. We changed our day off to Wednesday last year when our small group started meeting at church because we had grown too large to meet in our home. The nights were getting later and later, and Wednesday’s were a mess at home the next day. The kids were tired and cranky after a late night, and it just wasn’t working. So we moved our day off to Wednesday. Because we homeschool the kids and Matt and I both work from home, it worked out.
It’s been really good for us, a much-needed change. There are a few problems that come with a Wednesday day-off, though. Matt has a meeting with pastors in the area that meets on the first Wednesday of the month, and Macey’s doctor’s appointments for her Type 1 Diabetes are always on Wednesdays. So we have to work around those events. Normally, we can make it all work and still get a day off on Wednesday, even on those weeks.
A Recent Day Off
Recently, Matt hosted the pastors at our church for the monthly meeting. We left the house early so we could grab the food and coffee and get everything set up. We had a great meeting. After the meeting was done, we picked up everything, packed up and met the kids and my mother-in-law for lunch. When we finally got home, we were ready to crash. It was still afternoon, so we had some time to just relax and enjoy down time.
Unexpected Visitors
That is, until a knock came at our door. We opened the door and found our neighbor, Art, at the door. We talked to him for a while and eventually invited him inside to continue talking. An hour or two later, he left, and I trudged upstairs to my room to get a little bit of down time and read. I grabbed the book I was currently reading, snagged a blanket, and settled against the pillows on my bed, ready to read. Before I even cracked the spine, the kids came running upstairs.
“Miss Tara’s here!”
Tara is another neighbor of ours. I took a deep breath and released it before getting to my feet and making my way downstairs once again. Tara ended up staying for awhile. We talked and even played several rounds of Uno. We had a good time, but in the back of my mind was this thought: this is supposed to be “my time.”
My Indictment
I was feeling really good about myself, patting myself on the back for being so “neighborly,” when God knocked me off my pedestal this week. For my morning time, I was reading in the book of Galatians. I read these verses:
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
Galatians 6:2,3 NLT
Wow. I don’t think there’s any way to get past these verses, except to take responsibility and own up to them. If we think we are too important, what we are doing is too important to stop and help someone, we are simply fooling ourselves. We’re simply just not that important.
Jude reminds us in verse 22 of his short book that it’s compassion that makes the difference.
And of some have compassion, making a difference:
Jude 22 KJV
What’s Really Important
Those words smote me. How many times have I considered myself “too busy” to talk to somebody, to help somebody? How many times have I considered what I am doing too important to stop and go minister to somebody?
God used these verses to remind me of what’s most important— and that’s people, not my work. Ministering to people, loving on people will always trump whatever project I am currently working on. Compassion will always trump whatever work we are doing.
So the next time a knock comes at the door, my goal is to welcome the knock with a smile and compassion in my heart, not dread, because I get a chance to minister to somebody.
For More Encouragement
We just released a new devotional and study guide on the subject of compassion that goes hand-in-hand with this topic.
Created for Compassion: Answering the Call to Make a Difference is a thirty-day devotional that focuses on making a difference in the lives of others through compassion. Each day has a story to read, verses to study, and questions for application that help push us towards compassion and making a difference in the lives of others.
The accompanying study guide, 40 Days Compassion Study Guide: Opening Doors that Make a Difference is a six-week study guide with accompanying videos and is great for a small group to work through.
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