A Picture of Empathy
2 Samuel 23:13-17
Others may send sympathy, but some people need someone to stand alongside them and truly feel their hurt.
One night while in Chicago, a preacher conducted a revival meeting for the townspeople. He spoke on the empathy of Jesus and taught that Christ could sympathize with those who faced painful life situations. After the meeting, a man approached the preachers and stated, "If your wife had just died and your babies were crying for their mother you wouldn't speak of empathy." The man's comments made the preacher think. Tragically, a few days later the preacher's wife was killed in a train wreck and her body was transported to that same church in Chicago where her husband had spoken only days before.
After the funeral, those in attendance waited in their seats as the preacher approached his wife's casket then turned to the audience to say, "The other day a man told me I wouldn't speak of the sympathy of Jesus if my wife had just died. If that man is here, I want to tell him that Christ is sufficient. My heart is broken, but it has a song put there by Jesus. I want that man to know that Jesus Christ speaks comfort to me today."
Empathy has been described as "your pain in my heart". The word empathy comes from the Greek word emp'atheia whose root means "to suffer." Truly, being empathetic for someone means more than sending a condolence card or a plant. Empathy feels the pain of another human being and seeks to console.
Few people could have known exactly what David faced as he fled from Saul and traveled the hills of Israel for escape, yet the mighty men who formed his friends during that time empathized with David's pain in two ways.
They sensed David's heart. David's heart wasn't to defy the king or overthrow his kingdom, but he simply sought to obey God's command that David would become king. He was being pursued out of selfish anger rather than true wrongdoing.
David recorded his heart in Psalm 142:4-7, "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me."
Often times will come when a friend needs your empathy. Others may send sympathy, but they need someone to stand alongside them and truly feel their hurt. Being an empathetic friend isn't without work-it takes godly strength and wisdom to comfort someone, yet the blessings are bountiful.
They sacrificed for a friend. David's men truly valued him. Consider the fact each one of them gave up time with family, friends, work, and other opportunities to stand by David's side. Many of them were married with families of their own, yet when David needed them most, they sacrificed for him,
While empathizing with a friend may not require you to abandon family for months at a time, it will take your time and energy. Be willing to sacrifice yourself for the healing of a friend.
Do you know someone who could use an empathetic friend right now? No human being can live life without facing times of intense struggle, loss, trial, or pain. Find someone who needs help, and ask God to use you in that person's life today.
Daily Bible Reading
1 Samuel 22-24 | Luke 12:1-31
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