It's been a year since I began working with HIV. For a year I have surrounded myself with those either already affected or at high - risk. Though I tend to pride myself on my empathy, I realize now that I have continuously fallen short. I realize now that while I was too busy praising myself on a job well-done, I missed the point. I realize now that while I was listening, and loving, there was so much more that I could and should be doing. I realize that now, because I realize what my Lord Jesus did. This year has been a year of growth. When I began, I was detached and uncomfortable. As I progressed in my job, I began putting faces and names to statistics. I learned stories, and backgrounds. I developed relationships with young men who looked nothing like me, with lives nothing like mine. As I did, I learned something: though we come from incredibly different places, we are not that different at all. Their stories are different than mine, but their hearts are not. They long for love, or fun, or happiness, or companionship, just like me. Though it has been months since I began delivering HIV test results, I got tested myself for the first time just yesterday. It's been months that I have been working with people to reduce risk, and preparing them for their results. It's been months since I have been encouraging people to keep up the good work, or breaking the news that we will need to get them connected to care. My heart has broken for these people. I have shed tears. I have lost sleep. My prayers have been for them. But I now know that I was not even close to understanding them. As I sat in that chair, arm out, blood being drawn, my heart was racing. It was then I realized, the greatest education in the world is nothing compared to truly living a life outside of your own. ...though we come from incredibly different places, we are not that different at all. Never did I ever foresee myself doing this work, with these people, in this place. Moreso, never did I ever foresee myself loving it. But I do, and that is why I must acknowledge my privilege. Being a white, heterosexual female, I am at a relatively low risk for HIV. Being educated, I am the one that teaches others - a place of power and authority I do or do not deserve, as I am completely detached from the community. I, being incredibly priveliged due to circumstances completely out of my control, will never fully understand the population I work with... ever. That is why acknowledging privilege is the first step to true, deep, empathy. My life is separated from theirs. It was separated from the students I worked with last year, and the young mothers I served before that. I am mentioning these not for praise for working in tough situations, but to point out this truth: empathy is a process. Sympathy is quick, empathy takes time. Sincere empathy begins with acknowledging privilege, but does not end there. Sincere empathy requires conversations - not just service. It is easy to go to our local food bank and bag groceries. It is easy to call a number on TV, or drop some money in the offerring basket at church. But we must do more than that. Those are not bad things, but they cannot be our only things if we want to live truly love our neighbors, if we want to truly love "the least of these." This, friends, is not a new idea. This is not a call to action from me. This is not revolutionary, nor is it unique to the Christian life. However, for believers, this call to true empathy and service is also this: For anyone who claims to follow Jesus, this is not optional. And that is why we must try harder, Christians. We must go further, deeper, and longer than we ever have. We must enter into circumstances outside of our own, we must get uncomfortable, we must stop accepting a life of anything less. Don't take my word for it; take Jesus'. Jesus, one with the God of the Universe, humbled himself. He came to earth, and he ate with sinners. He got his hands and feet dirty, and loved those who did not look like him. He spoke with the samaritan woman. He had dinner with tax collectors. He had compassion for prostitutes, and stood in the way of a lawful stoning for a woman he did not know. These are stories we know, but they are stories we take for granted. We grow up hearing these truths about Jesus, and we use them to talk about how great he is. Well, friends, that's not why He came. Jesus came to love people, and save us from our sins, yes - but He also came to show us how to live. Through Him, the old law was abolished, and we no longer had to guess the ways to please the Father. Christian (def.) - Christ follower. Not Christ lover, Christ admirer, Christ's cheerleader. Though a life of following Jesus may include those things, that is not what you are solely called to be. This, friends, should make you uncomfortable. It should make you uncomfortable if all of your friends look like you. It should make you uncomfortable if your favorite pastime is going to Starbucks to gossip in the name of prayer requests. It should make you uncomfortable if the last time you practiced true service for someone who is less priviliged than you is too long ago to remember. God did not leave us hanging; He told us what to do, and we must do it. We must develop an empathy so strong it drives us to action. We must acknowledge that we come from a place of privilege - one in which we often do not have to fear for our lives because of our faith, or worry about food on the table because of our jobs. And then we must, must, must, serve. And we must, must, must love. It begins with conversations. Educate yourselves, and then go talk to people. I promise, you will learn that even those you have deemed unworthy of your money, or your time, because "they should have just worked harder," or you "don't agree with their lifestyle choices," are, of course, worthy of your love. I, in no way, am saying I have this mastered. I have a long way to go, learning new things every day. Empathy takes time. It is a form of growth that will challenge you, and require work. It will not happen over night. It will not come from a place of superiority, one where you believe you will save anyone. That is the Lord's job, just as it is his job to judge and redeem. Our job is to love - a true, deep, empathetic, service oriented love. It must drive all we do.
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AuthorHello! I'm Becca -humanitarian, caffeine addict, lover of books, people, and all things Jesus. You can find me in my pajamas, day dreaming about rainy days and saving the world. Archives
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