Empathy is destroying Me

[Little Lantern]

I think you've struck to the heart of the issue here. We are made with a natural sympathy for others, unless something's been done to thwart it. When a normal person sees others suffer, he translates it to his own experience, and reacts accordingly. This is as it should be, and forms a motivational basis for the Golden Rule, do unto others...

But if we have not resolved the fundamental problem of pain in our own life, the sympathy can get out of hand. Paul refers to this in 1 Thess 4.13:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
What if you were the one directly experiencing the pain you see others go through? Would you be able to offer it up and keep your hope in God through it? This is what all the persecuted have had to do, some unto death. If you can come to peace on that, the sorrow you feel for others, while it still may be profound, will have limits, as it meets the reality of the goodness of God at work within you.

Profound, @paul1149. I'm going to chew on this a while.

 

[Jude1:3Contendforthefaith]

It shows that you have The Holy Spirit of God in your heart and that you care about other people.

Maybe you have this empathy to help push you towards praying for people (The Parents of the Child Etc)

 

[Introverted1293]

Well, maybe.

I appreciate what you are saying here. But I still struggle with sin. So it's kind of hard for me to believe that I may have the Holy Spirit In Me. But you could be right. The Holy Spirit may be working in my life. And because I know I have sin in my life, I know what I need to do. I struggle with bitterness and anger, but I also have empathy for people. Thank you very much.