COMPASSION AND YOU
January 31, 2020
Prayer: Dear Lord, Please lead me in Your compassion.
Scripture: Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the godly, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you. Luke 14:13-14 NLT
What is your CQ? Your Compassion Quotient– what is it? Can you put a number to it? You might list the number of minutes in a single day– 24 times 60=1,440. Then count up the number of minutes you engaged in doing some selfless and unrecognized act to benefit another– especially a person who was needy and unable to respond in kind. How many days back do you have to go to think of one of those incidents? Last Tuesday, I spent time listening to a child tell her story– 15 minutes. Last Monday I talked with a homeless person outside my church door, and learned he needed a pair of pants. I rummaged around in our room of collections for such things and found him a pair– 15 minutes. So, in the past four days I can account for about 30 minutes of compassion. Four times 1,440=5,760. 30 divided by 5760= .005 or .5 percent. Hmmmm I guess that method does not make me look very good? Whom have I invited to a meal without thought to how much it might cost me? Whom have I given resources to and not thought about whether or not I needed those resources? How often am I willing to be inconvenienced so others can be blessed? Actually, countable things are not the way to measure CQ, though it might be a start. There are other ways to measure compassion. In the end, there is just one question I must answer to determine my CQ. Do I love others as much as I love myself? Do I love God more?
Copyright Dan Elliott. Email [email protected]