Empathy in an Apathetic World

**Before you read this, prepare yourself. Don’t let this be just another blog post you skim over, please.**

We all have someone we care about on a deeply personal level. It’s in our nature to have/want someone like that, be it a friend, a husband, wife, or actual family member.

Picture someone you know, someone you care about to such an extent you really feel connected. Someone you love.

Imagine if this person were taken away from you. By force. Say this person was stolen from their home in the dead of night, and taken to a god-forsaken country to be forced to have sex for profit.

Say this person was being raped, night after night, beaten, soiled, and alone except for the people who wished them only harm.

Would this bother you?

Yes, it would. It would bother any creature with a heart, Christian or non-Christian. Because it’s wrong, especially when done to someone you love.

What if you could do something for this person, though? The one you care about. What if you could, possibly, save them; give them a better life that the one they were thrust into? Would you do everything in your power to do this?

Yes, I think you would.

Let’s take a break from this horrible image, and go back to the even more terrifying reality we live in. Every minute, two girls are captured or sold into the sex slavery.

I could go on forever about the flooring statistics about how many little girls every year are forced to suffer this terrible fate, but would that make them any more real to you?

In order for you to want to do something about it, you have to feel this problem on a more personal level.

Those girls were somebody’s daughter, sister, friend. They had real lives, and many of them could have grown into happy women with daughters and friends of their own.

That chance was stolen from them, yet do we care?

If just 1/4 of the people in America each cared as deeply for a child in the sex trade as someone they know, I have no doubt that the entire sex slavery system would be abolished in no time.

What’s standing in the way of that?

Apathy. We see, we hear, we know, yet we do not feel.

Ask God to let you feel. It will hurt, yes. Even as Jesus put his life down on the cross for us, he felt our sin, our pain, and he did everything in his power to extinguish it.

Jesus felt the wrong of this world. Now it’s our turn.

Rob Morris, president and co-founder of Love146, wrote a blog post today on this very subject. I don’t know what his religious views are, but I know he gets it. He understand God’s call to care for his people.

If for some reason you find it hard to follow Jesus’s example, follow Rob’s. He’s a modern times guy with a heart for the weak and hurting.

He’s someone we all can be.

–Dani

Forgiveness: the real “F” word

I don’t know if anyone else struggles with this, but forgiveness is one of the main things I’ve been dealing with over the past couple of weeks. I could go into this long story of how I was miserably wallowing in self-pity and anger, then how God changed me from the inside out and taught me an invaluable lesson on forgiveness, but I’ll just let you read for yourself the words He spoke to my heart that inspired such a change. Here are 14 verses on forgiveness that come straight from the Bible.

I’ve been in church all my life, but as I read these passages, I realized that I have a LOT to learn about forgiving. It’s not as easy as people try to make it seem, but it’s not impossible, either.

I hope these verses help you let go of whatever grudge you may be holding, because generally, we all have someone or something we need to let go of.

And one more thought – what does holding grudges in your heart do for you? Does it make you happy? Does it make you a better person? If our goal is to let nothing stand between us and God, then harboring grudges should be something we automatically reject.

Psalm 103:12 – God forgives in such extremities that we can only imagine.
Proverbs 19:11 – The wise are well practiced in forgiveness.
Matthew 6:14-15 – Not forgiving others actually inhibits us from receiving God’s forgiveness. Can we really afford that kind of separation?
Matthew 18:20-22 – No matter how repetitious a person’s wrongdoings against us are, we have the power to forgive them infinitely for each sin.
Mark 3:28-29 – All sins that are committed against US, as humans, can be forgiven. There is not a special case in which we have the right to not forgive someone.
Mark 11:25 – It would require a great act of hypocrisy to stand before God and ask for forgiveness, when you refuse to forgive others.
John 20:22-23 – Wouldn’t it be better for all involved if the sins were wiped clean? There is no point in grudges, because they only hurt everyone involved.
Romans 5:20-21 – Because we have God’s power and grace, we are completely capable of forgiving others.
Galatians 6:1-3 – When someone asks for forgiveness, it is not necessary for you to also give them your critical comments.
Ephesians 4:32 – The person you need to forgive doesn’t have to be repentant. basically, the only knowledge you need to forgive others is the knowledge that God has forgiven them, and God has forgiven you.
Titus 3:11 – Sins are between God and the sinner. If the sin doesn’t concern us, and the sinner has not asked for help, don’t worry about it. Deal with your own sins before you can even begin to help others.
James 5:16 – Prayer is power. Pray for others, and pray for the ability to forgive. All you have to do is ask.
1 John 2:12 – All of our sins have been forgiven. The end.

–Dani

Godly women attract godly guys. Simple as that.

Hey people!

Do yourself a favor and check out this link. It’s a blog post written by a very godly guy (David Fisher, for those of you who know him) and in my opinion, he’s right on target with what he says about godly women being more attractive.

So have a look at his thoughts on the subject, and maybe check out the rest of his blog, too. Sometimes it’s just fun to see what guys actually think, and David has graciously shared his thoughts with the world through his blog =)

~Dani