Give Me Your Eyes

A couple of months ago I was reading a women’s magazine {I don’t remember which one} and they were giving tips to help with what else? Weight loss.

The article said that something you could do to keep yourself from overindulging was to remind yourself, “I don’t need to stuff myself. This isn’t my last meal. I am going to eat again.”

When I first read that, I thought, “What a great idea! I’m gonna do that!”

And then I had a sobering thought.

That wouldn’t work for everybody.

Because some people? They don’t know whether or not the meal they are eating will be their last.

They don’t know for certain that they will eat again in 3 or 4 hours.

They don’t even know if they will eat again.

I am the daughter of a small town Baptist pastor and a stay-at-home mom. I am telling you, by American standards, we were poor.  But I never – I mean NEVER – wondered where our next meal would come from.

And no, we couldn’t afford to buy brand name clothes but we ALWAYS had clothes. And shoes. And coats.

Sometimes I catch myself complaining about ________ {my body, my hair, my clothes, my husband’s job, fill in the blank} but when I stop and think for just a second about how lucky I am, I realize – I am so spoiled.

I know I’m not alone in this. Because in America, we are so far removed from poverty that we hardly even know what it looks like.

We are a country where the overabundance of food is more of a problem than the scarcity of it. Where obesity kills more people than almost any other disease. Where being overweight is more of a concern than being underweight and malnourished.

I’m not saying there aren’t people in America who are poor. I’m not saying that we don’t have problems. I’m not saying that life is easy for everybody here. But really, when you look at the life of the average American – even those who might be considered below the poverty line – and then you compare that with countries like Haiti. Africa. India. You have to ask yourself: What do I know of suffering?

So it’s winter. So it’s cold. So we’ve been going through ice storms and blizzards and frigid cold snaps.

So what? Don’t I have food and clean water and heat and nice clothes at my disposal?

So I’m stuck inside because of the weather. Don’t I have a nice house to be stuck in?

I have to be honest with you – sometimes I become numb to the suffering I see on TV or read about in the papers. Compassion for people? Showing mercy? Sorry, but that’s not really my “spiritual gift”. But you know what?

That’s no excuse.

The Bible is FILLED with commands to show compassion to the poor. Read the book of Proverbs and write down every verse you see on this topic. You’ll have pages full.

If I want to be like Jesus, then what breaks His heart must break mine. And the truth is, human suffering whether it’s self imposed or brought on by some other source breaks His heart.

When He walked this earth, He didn’t look at people and say, “Well, yeah, they’re suffering but that’s what they get for living such a sinful life. They brought it on themselves.”

No. He looked at the masses and He wept.

He wept because He saw their suffering. He wept because He saw their sin. He wept because He knew that unless Someone did something, these people would die in those sins and spend an eternity suffering in the worst way imaginable.

And He did something about it.

It was a hard thing – to die on the cross in the place of people who were so unworthy. To suffer excruciating pain for the sake of people who spit in His face and called Him names. But He did it because He is a God who is equal parts loving and holy.

If I am to follow His example, what can I do?

I can stop being cold hearted. I can stop being self-absorbed and self-righteous. I can kneel before God in humility, recognizing that I don’t deserve this blessed life that I have anymore than anybody else does and I can ask Him for opportunities to make a difference to “the least of these”.

And I can reach out. I can seek to help people with their physical needs in the hopes that it will open the door to share with them how to satisfy their greatest need – their spiritual need for a Savior.

“Oh Father – let me see people through your eyes. Move my heart with compassion. Give me opportunities to show love and give me the conviction to take them. Let the things that break Your heart, break mine. I cannot do it by my strength alone. Give me Your eyes.”

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”
Matthew 9:36