Who Cares?

It’s a good question, but sometimes asked in a flippant or sarcastic tone. A good friend starts to tell you how bad their day has been, you zone out, and find yourself saying to yourself ‘who cares’ anyway. The classroom know-it-all starts to explain the finer points of the previous lesson, and you think or even say, ‘who cares’?

In Scotland we have mastered the fine art of sarcasm (and some see it as a humorous artform) but the same cannot be said about speaking encouraging pleasantries. These are pushed aside, out of the way, because they are seen as soft, and show a caring, sensitive side and we can’t be having that now, can we? Anyway, who cares if you are offended by that sarcasm?

Church is different for the most part, with people being nice, and showing that they care. Whoa! Back up! Sure the Bible tells us to love one another, and by that characteristic all will know you are Jesus’ disciples. Ah, I hear you say, but can’t we be sarcastic at the same time as being loving and caring? I suggest not.

Take it a step further. Something a Christian can do that no other group can do, is pray. We can pray for the sick, the hurting, the lonely, the unsaved, and that is all good and shows our concern, and that we really do care. But can’t we pray at the same time as we are sarcastic? Of course not!

The real problem for me, is not when there is an absence of sarcasm, encouraging words, or even prayer. It’s the silence. That’s what hits and hurts the most. I remember clearly being in Christian company in church when one of the ladies said to my late wife. “You do know we are praying for you?” Neither she nor I knew that they were praying. No one said. There was silence. My wife had cancer and didn’t survive the disease, so lost out from the knowledge that people in the church at that time were praying. Silence. There were two lessons for me in that short conversation. The first is to pray when you say you will pray. Don’t talk about it to your friends, but do it. That brings me to the second lesson, which is to tell them you are praying for them right in their time of need. They need to hear it. Trust me on this. The person you are praying for needs to know you care enough to pray. They need to know you care. We need to care, and be seen to care!

Extra Years?

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew6:27NIV

Short, sharp, and to the point. You don’t usually get medical advice like that, because it takes a lot longer for our ‘learned academia’ to go round the houses before they come to the point. But here it is in the Bible, and has been there for centuries. When you continually worry your life suffers! Take a deep breath and let that sink in.

It is important to understand the difference between worry and concern, or being anxious and it is this. Worry is usually a long term thing, and ‘worrier’ is the word used to describe someone who almost naturally worries before they know all the facts. Worry is in the core of their being. Most, if not all, of us have been concerned or anxious about a certain situation or person, but it doesn’t take over our life. The concern passes.

Jesus is making a statement we need to hear, especially if we are a ‘worrier’ by nature. It doesn’t have to be like this when we can leave it with Jesus to deal with. In fact the bigger problem needing God’s attention isn’t the thing or person making us worry, it’s our own heart which can’t seem to let go and let God do His work. The concerned and anxious person’s feelings will pass when the issue or situation passes, and we let Jesus take the strain (literally), so don’t feel guilty about that, however I would encourage you to get heavenly help for your worry!

Charity

“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” - Augustine

‘Charity’ is one of those old words we don’t use very much now, but it has a wealth of significant meaning, especially for the faithful Christian. It is mostly translated as ‘love’ in the Bible, and who doesn’t know the love chapter of 1st Corinthians 13? Jesus also told us to love one another, as we love ourselves, and as He has loved us. We can’t dodge it, we have to show charity, or in other words to love one another.

The other meanings of ‘charity’ would be ‘concern’, ‘caring’, ‘looking for the best’, ‘welfare’, ‘goodness’, and in each case it involves the initial parts of falling in love. Can you remember the time when you started to notice the woman who would become your wife? All your thoughts, feelings and emotions were only for her good, and aimed at the one who would become your love. Is it stretching it too far to suggest that if you say you act in love, but don’t have the caring heart needed up front to support it, then this kind of love is only a part time feeling, and maybe even a sham?

Augustine nailed it when he suggests that in all things we must have charity, or love. It tops essentials and non-essentials every time, and is based on sound Scripture. Perhaps we could all do with some more good old fashioned charity.

A soft and gentle and thoughtful answer turns away wrath, But harsh and painful and careless words stir up anger. Proverbs 15:1 (AMP)