compassion

So I think this is the first time I've ever written a blog from somewhere other than my computer at home. Maybe that will make it a little more exciting. But probably not because I'm at work, and honestly, not that excited to be here. I'm working in the stock room tonight, which means that I get to sort all the new clothes that come in. Some of you who love clothing may think this is exciting, but you would be wrong for thinking that. It's not. Also, the stock room tends to be the place where everyone reveals who they really are. Earlier tonight, two of my co-workers got in a huge argument. Julie was telling us about her family in Louisiana. She grew up in Baton Rouge, and all of her family is still there. Her mom and sister flew to Colorado, so she knows they're safe, but she has no idea if her aunts, uncles, etc. are alive. All she knows is that the town she grew up in is now a complete mess. She told me she's been hearing reports of people killing each other, themselves, and simply going insane. I can't even begin to imagine the horrific circumstances the people there are experiencing. So as she was telling us this, another co-worker asked her to stop talking and get back to work. Of course, this didn't go over well. So, as you can imagine, a major argument insued, and they both ended up in the manager's office.

What I witnessed in my co-worker was a complete lack of compassion that shocked me. Most of the time, I'm amazed at how nice people are . . . Marc Lohse expressed the same observation the other night when he said that most of the people he meets in Boulder are nicer than he is, and they don't know Jesus. That's usually what floors me--and convicts me. But tonight it was the opposite. And I don't know how to process the reactions of either types of people. One type doesn't know Jesus and acts like it (but so do some Christians), and the other doesn't know Jesus and acts like they do. Maybe one has hardened his heart to the world, and the other's heart is being prepared to fully understand how to increase their compassion by drawing from the source of the purest form of it--Jesus. I just don't know.

Today I found myself overwhelmed a bit by the weight of the suffering in the world. Watching people fighting with each other and looting in Louisiana makes me depressed. But hearing on the news that many people are giving up their own homes for those who have lost everything gives me some hope. I don't know . . . lately I've just been wondering what it is that motivates some people to be so compassionate--more compassionate than I am. Is it just the idea of karma . . . if they're a good person, good things will happen to them? Or is there actually some good in humanity. In the church we're taught that we're inherently bad, and I believe that because when I'm honest with myself, I know that my heart is not naturally kind. It's fully of all kinds of sin and evil. But is there some good in humanity? I don't know . . . any thoughts?