On pride

Pride goeth before destruction,

And a haughty spirit before a fall.


- Proverbs 16: 18, JPS Tanakh 1917

On securing one's life

Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.

- Jesus





Source:

Gospel of Luke 17:33, New Revised Standard Version

Real empathy

On social media these days just about anything may be found. Social media is great for keeping us in touch with many all around the world. Just about any type of information may also be found there. Lately, many on there seem to think they are empaths. Wow! That is a loaded word. But many out there do seem to think they are empaths and seem to believe that they have more empathy than anyone. Somehow, I do not think people are really understanding what an empath really is, however. An empath is really a word more relevant to science fiction. In sci-fi an empath is a person that experiences or can strongly perceive the emotional and mental state of others. Of course, this is in a paranormal sort of way. Truthfully, many are confusing it for something completely different. The thing is many seem to think they are beyond good, and this might be a little concerning. Even Jesus said only God is good when someone called him good. I will try to explain my argument.

Many love to say that Jesus quote "love your neighbor.” Some might say something like, oh, you do not love your neighbor, for example. The reality is that love your neighbor is only half the quote. The full quote is about loving your neighbor as yourself. The thing is that it seems many want to follow about 1% of things Jesus may have said and ignore the other 99%. For instance, Jesus said take up your cross and follow me. Jesus even told one rich young man to sell all his possessions and give the money to poor, and he would have treasure in heaven (Matthew 19:16-30). By the way, the young man walked away realizing he probably had little empathy. When one sees empathy with a different lens, the number of those who have real empathy seems to diminish. However, there are and have been real empaths throughout history, many who gave themselves for others selflessly.

Do you want to know who was a person with great empathy? Well, Mother Teresa was highly likely one. If you do not know her biography, I recommend that you pick up a copy of it. I am without a doubt convinced that you would agree with me.

Do you think you have great empathy? If you do, I recommend you do something about that calling. Serving others may be what you should be doing. Now, if you are judging others that you feel do not love their neighbor more than you, it is possible that you are just judgmental. Moreover, I hope you have not confused being judgmental for being an empath (a predominantly sci-fi term). If the shoe fits wear it, but please do not assume I am the one being judgmental for writing this piece. I just wanted to clarify what seems to be an error in our current society by explaining my view from a theological perspective. Also, I am done here. Peace, love, and blessings!