Tenderhearted part 1
I don't like to fight. You might have picked that up by now. There's a TV show in which the main character is hiding in the bathroom, and her best friend asks her what she's doing. She says, "Eating cookies and avoiding confrontation." For the most part... that's me. If I can avoid a confrontation, I will. I know my family has heard this from me more times than they want to: "I'm not arguing with you." I'm just not interested in it. I don't think it helps at all. Ever. So let's make that Biblicial. Ephesians 4:32, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." In other words, be cool. Remember that love doesn't demand its (HIS) own way. Loving people is about letting them be who they are. Tenderhearted is number 2155 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "Well compassioned, that is sympathetic: - pitiful." And when I think of the word pitiful, I think of someone who is just completely over and out. Someone who literally just can't do it. Whatever it is. I guess I kind of associate "pitiful" with "pathetic." But, as always, there's a more excellent way. Instead of looking down on people and judging them harshly... we should only ever look down on someone in order to reach down and help them up. We should absolutely have pity for people. In the sense of compassion. In the sense of being sympathetic. "Pity" according to dictionary.com is "sympathetic or kindly sorrow evoked by the suffering, distress, or misfortune of another, often leading one to give relief or aid or to show mercy." And to me that's the important part: leading one to give relief or aid. Showing mercy. Seeing someone down and out... and helping them. That's where the rubber meets the road. That's where we get to the place of charity. Love in action. That's where we do things heartily--to the best of our ability, and because it is in our heart to do it. Our tender heart. Our soft heart. One of my favorite things about my son is that his whole life people have always described him as a sweet heart. One time I picked him up from school, and we were walking out with another dad who had picked up his son too. And the kids were chatting as we walked. Then we went separate ways, and I could tell Logan wanted to say one last thing, but he didn't really know what to say to end the conversation. And he came up with, "Ok! Love you!" And the other kid pause for a second but then said, "Love you too, Logan!" And I couldn't stop smiling. My kid is the "I love you kid." And even though it was unexpected, it got the same response back. Because it's hard to hear that and NOT respond to it. The deep calls out to the deep. The light in me is really kind of desperate to connect to the light in you. Heart strings. The ties that bind. The connection and relationship that comes from love. From building instead of tearing down. That comes from having sympathy and compassion and pity... and love... for other people. Seeing a need and meeting it. Seeing someone in distress and helping them instead of piling on. It's such a good thing. It's a God thing. It's a love thing!