Are you compassionate?

*Yearly Reading: Exodus 20-24


"If you take your neighbor's cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down; for it may be your neighbor's only clothing to use as a cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbor cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate." Exodus 22: 26-27 NRSV

I admit that I have never been into a pawn shop. However, I see them as mainly traps for people who are in desperate need of easy cash; how often is the individual able to buy back their item? I tend to place them in the same class as the stores which cash pay checks and tax refunds. I see them as places where the poor are taken advantage of by unscrupulous persons.

In this passage, God is not saying "Thou shall have no pawn shops." But God is saying that to keep someone's belongings from them when that is all they have is doing ill to your neighbor. God hears the cry of those who have been taken advantage of and has mercy on them. God is compassionate.

God wants us to pay attention when we are doing everyday business transactions. We should be asking ourselves: Am I taking advantage of this other person? Does my business transactions affect someone who has no other options? Who is affected when I make a business decision? These are not easy questions to ask or to answer.

God is compassionate. And I think God wants us to be compassionate as well.

God, you are the God of compassion and mercy. You hear the cries of the poor and disadvantaged. Help us to be compassionate and merciful as well, asking ourselves the hard questions. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2010 Amelia G. Sims
*Sorry this devotional is so late today!- Amelia

God's Compassion

Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. Matthew 1: 19 NRSV

I am still trying to figure out how to keep a pregnant unmarried woman out of public disgrace.

Although it seems to be more common today, there is still a lot of stigma associated with being unmarried and pregnant. It is good that we don't take these women out and stone them to death. Or even make them sew a large red "A" on all their clothes. But how much compassion do we really show them?

Joseph was trying to do the right thing. He wanted out of a situation in which he knew that was not a child of his. But he also knew that Mary could face a death sentence if the situation was not handled well.

Little did he know what kind of compassion God truly required of him.

God, sometimes we are more full of judgment than compassion. Help us, Lord, help us! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2009 Amelia G. Sims

Compassion

But the Israelites had compassion for Benjamin their kin.... Judges 21: 6a NRSV

I wonder if our compassion can either come too late or be misplaced.

For example, when the US sends in troops to a foreign country, have you ever considered why it takes us so long to consider the plight of the average human being who lives there?

Or perhaps you have wondered why do we glue ourselves to the television when one already famous child is supposedly stuck in a weather balloon while we ignore the thousands in a different part of the world that are dying in a natural disaster?

One major culprit is our media. Compassion is not a motivator of our media. We see this on the nightly news. However beloved your favorite newscastor is, you can see how schooled their faces are when they report tragedy. They can go from reporting awful tragedy to lighthearted events with very little change in their facial expressions.

Maybe high levels of exposure to tragedy numbs them from experiencing deep compassion.

What then can it do to us? If you are constantly bombarded with bad news in your community or family, will you lose your capacity to feel compassion or mercy on your fellow human beings? Can we lose our ability to feel compassion for one another in the church if they are continually hurting?

I think one thing that saves us is the Holy Spirit. It is through the power of the Spirit that we can hear and see the tragedy while at the same time be filled with the capacity for deep compassion.

Thank you, God, for your power given to us through the Holy Spirit. May we never lose the ability to feel compassion with the help of the Spirit. In Jesus' Holy name we pray. Amen.

Question of the day: What is tugging on your heart right now? In other words, where are you feeling compassion?

Copyright 2009 Amelia G. Sims