by Rich DuBose
One of the identifying traits of a true follower of Jesus is the ability to be empathetic toward others, especially when things get ugly. It’s easy to be nice to nice people, but a Jesus-like spirit really kicks in when our circumstances are less than favorable.
The word “empathy” means, “The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.” —Merriam-Webster
A slang word from our culture that draws meaning from empathy is “woke.” A person who is woke is, “Aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice). —Merriam-Webster
“I'd be a monster not to care whether another person is hurt.” —Sarah J. Maas
Jesus said, “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them” (Luke 6:32, NLT).
Being a follower of Jesus requires an other-worldly mindset toward those around us that is not curated by political bias.
Deeply Moved
Years ago when I was going through some rough times as a teen, there was an older woman in a church in Clearwater, Florida, who on a particular evening prayed for me late into the night. In fact she prayed for me till the sun came up the next day. I didn’t hear about this until years later when she was no longer living. When I heard about it I was deeply moved.
What motivated her to do this?
At the time she prayed I was about 16 years old and had either run away from home, or had moved away to pursue my dream of playing in a band and pursuing a life away from God. My head was not in a good place. I had no clue what life was about. My dad shared his concerns for me at church and she took a personal interest in my situation and made it the focus of her prayers.
To this day I don’t know who she was. Yet, she chose to enter into my needs with an all night prayer vigil that was motivated by her love for God and her empathy for me.
She prayed for me from a far.
Praying for Others
You may laugh, but my prayer list has people on it I’ve never met. Most are ordinary people, but some of them are politicians, famous musicians and TV personalities who wouldn’t know me from Adam. But I pray for them that God will somehow enrich their lives with meaning and a sense of purpose.
You may ask, what good is prayer? Years ago a man put it this way and it has stuck with me. When we speak to God about someone—on their behalf, we give God permission to act in the face of the devil’s arguments against them, The devil argues that God has no right to help them because they haven’t asked for it, or no one really cares about them. But when we ask God to work in someone’s behalf (even if we don't know them), we destroy the devil’s argument that no one cares or has interceded for them. We give God cover in face of the devil’s criticisms and accusations.
You may say, God doesn’t need our cover or permission to do anything, and that would be true. But remember, God is on trial. The whole universe is watching to see how he ultimately will handle the sin problem. Shortly after he created Adam and Eve, the issue of sin “blew up” in his face and has been wreaking havoc on earth for thousands of years. The way God responds to this reveals what kind of being he is. The devil says he’s a fascist and a dictator, and that God forces people to do things against their will. Look who’s talking. That’s the devil’s modus operandi. He is all about enslaving people and dumbing them down.
My experience has been that God is a gentleman who wants us to choose for ourselves how we wish to live.
Jesus invites us, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT).
He doesn’t compel us to come, but invites us.
The Message paraphrase of this same passage has enduring appeal:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Talk about empathy, compassion and freedom of choice—It’s all here. In contrast with how the world treats us, how is this not appealing?
To live empathetically with care for others is an act of “rebellion" against the default settings we all come with to put ourselves first. For those who are tired of putting themselves first, which eventually leads to our dreams turning into nightmares, Jesus offers to change our hearts so that our desires become aligned with his.
The apostle Paul said,
“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too” (Philippians 2:3-4, NLT).
“What is really important is not what we believe to be true in our heads, but what we know to be true in our hearts: love. In other words, if a person is loving and kind, that ought to be enough to connect with one another and work together for the sake of all of our children. We need to care about all human beings, all life on the planet, and the planet itself." — Lawrence Overmire
Rich DuBose writes from Northern California | Photo by Cottonbro Studio, with Pexels
On the web at: richdubose.com. All Rights Reserved © 2025. Join me on Blue Sky @spiritrenew.bsky.social.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
MSG: Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.