I admit I’ve sent hundreds of greeting cards throughout my lifetime for just about every occasion whether it was a new baby, new home or new job. I’ve even mailed my fair share of sympathy cards for the death of a spouse, a child, a parent, a marriage and even the death of a four-legged friend.
So many countless cards have been mailed for more occasions than I can even recall and then I thought about something recently that made me hit the pause button. I realized there is something special about offering a hug along with that sympathy or get well card. It is the difference between empathizing and sympathizing with the individual who may be suffering.
I believe there is a huge difference between empathy and sympathy. Empathetic folks feel your pain and weep along with you. They understand the unspoken grief and can have a complete conversation just by wrapping their arms around you and never uttering a single word. It is communication of the heart.
Sympathetic folks send a greeting card and continue on with their lives.
I’ve witnessed this in action recently and would like to share an example. Two people are walking in an urban community. A broken man is lying near an abandoned building and covered by a single sheet of cardboard. One person points out the man and says, “Look at the man. That’s so sad.”
The other person quietly looks at the man and suddenly walks over to him, removes his coat and places it over the man. The homeless man opens his eyes and smiles.
My prayer: “Lord, may I always have an empathetic heart and a sympathetic eye. Help me to see the whole wide world with Your eyes and embrace them with Your love. There are so many people who are hurting and need a hug in this world. May I always pause to see and feel their pain and not just send a greeting card. Please give me the strength and the grace to meet them and greet them, face-to-face, wherever they may be.”
I want to be the kind of friend to others that Job had when Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar arrived to find Job afflicted with sores from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. The three friends suffered along with him and the Message Bible states it this way, “They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering.” Job 2:11-13 (Message Bible)
Can you imagine how encouraged Job must have been through his suffering when his friends came alongside of him? They didn’t just send a greeting card – they offered him a hug.
Source: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%202:11-13&version=MSG