Monday, February 19, 2018

Secrets of a Christian (the behind-the-scenes look)

Its called compassion fatigue.  There is even an entire website dedicated to it - www.compassionfatigue.org  

One of the better definitions I've heard for it even uses a better term for it - " Compassion fatigue, also known as secondary traumatic stress (STS), is a condition characterized by a gradual lessening of compassion over time."

I'm here to tell you that it can also happen in the blink of an eye.

There is a peripheral person in my life that an influential spiritual mentor to me has asked that I be Christ to ... ok, I said - sure!  I can do that! .... I even did so several years back, when he fliched some property from me.  I thought about it, I prayed about it, and I reasoned to myself ... and with one giant step for God, I never said anything to him about it, nor his employer, and I never treated him the slightest bit differently.   In fact, if I look at what one doctor says to do to avoid compassion fatigue, I was actually doing them - "Be grateful for what is good in your life and in the world. Try to find some meaning in the suffering you see" .

Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised at what happened this morning - there are so many studies, like this one:  Research from the University of Michigan and the University of Rochester Medical Center that found that compared to the late 1970s, empathy among students has declined by more than 40 percent  as well as Scriptures, like that one in 2d Timothy that is a special reference point for me, about how people will behave in the last days.

Even with knowledge of both of the above, however, I hit compassion fatigue - or perhaps I should call if Christian fatigue - just a few hours ago --

I found myself in a sudden situation.  I needed immediate help.  This didn't involve money, or even much time - it just involved someone who could lift heavy items.

He refused.

And my compassion fatigue - or should I much more accurately say Christian fatigue - fell upon me like the heaviest, most itchy wool blanket, ever.

I'm done.  

At this point, I don't even think I want to pray for the right bastard ... ok, mebbe his family, but him?

I'll leave that to the better Christians than myself.