Seventy plus years ago, Dr. Ruth Westheimer was a ten year old girl on a Kindertransport, a train that carried Jewish children to safety from Nazi Germany. She was allowed to take only one toy with her as she fled Frankfurt. She took a favorite doll. On the train she met a younger child, who was understandably crying. Painfully Ruth gave the young girl her doll. “She needed it more than I did,” Ruth remembers.
It’s called sensitivity. Most people have a little of it, but some people have a lot. Sensitive people seem to suffer more than others. Sensitive persons hurt not only for their own needs but also for the needs of others they see.
Sensitivity leads to compassion. Compassion forces us to ask, “Can I be of help?” The Bible tells of several instances where Jesus saw a need and asked, “How can I help you?” Sensitivity/compassion bids us get involved.
It is common for us to avoid involvement. You have heard and perhaps even said, “I did not want to get involved.” Thus, we devise ways not to see needs. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, two religious leaders pretended not to see a wounded man beside the road. They turned their heads, crossed over the road to get away. If they feared involvement, they did so with good cause. The Samaritan who had compassion on the wounded man, attended to his wounds (not a pleasant task); put him on his own donkey (presumably the Samaritan then had to walk); then paid for his care from his own pocket. All of which could have been avoided simply by looking the other way.
In this day of massive travel and worldwide communication, there are more needs out there than we can manage. Trying to solve every need we see would be foolish. This being true it is easy to become hard hearted and insensitive. If one never sees a need, one is not likely to become involved. However, such insensitivity robs you of one of life’s greatest joys – helping others. Jesus’ words, “It is better to give than receive,” could easily be translated, it is richer to help than be helped.
The next time you see a need, pray about it and ask God if this where you can be of service to “one of the least of these.”
