Compassion for others

John 8:10-11 (NKJV)

10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

This is the story of a woman caught in adultery. The crowd brought her to Jesus saying that the Law of Moses had commanded stoning of such a person.  In other words they placed their judgment upon her. Jesus had said to the crowd, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Hearing those words the crowd dispersed for they all knew they had sin in their lives.

My wife and I will often watch Dr. Drew on HLN in the evenings. Last night there was a panel discussion about a college girl who was participating in porn to pay her way through college. The panel of people debated whether this was right or wrong. Dr. Drew made a point that agrees with the words of Jesus, we can still tell someone they have a problem without placing a judgment upon them.

The Bible tells us for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of The Lord. It’s why the crowd who was ready to pass judgment on the adulterous woman and stone her quickly backed off when they thought about the sins in their lives. Perhaps even some of the men had been with this woman before.

There is nothing wrong with pointing out sin in a person’s life, but remember if you have obvious sin in your life get ready for them to say something back to you. It’s why we lovingly point out problems people have and instead of placing judgment upon them; we love them and offer help to restore them.

I once read Christians are the harshest on Christians who have sinned. These people are wounded and instead of picking them up and carrying them off the battlefield of sin we leave them there wounded and helpless. We need to be more proactive in helping people and showing our love for them.

Let us learn to talk to people about their problems in a loving way and without condemnation or judgment. Let us strive to help and show people they are loved. Let us also remember our own sins and deal with them properly. Let us ensure we have dealt with our own problems before trying to deal with the problems of others.

May God bless you, give you the wisdom to know right from wrong, and give you compassion to love others and help them through their problems.