Compassion Instead of Reaction

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8

We all have people in our lives who either grate on our nerves or treat us disrespectfully. I don’t know about you, but I am guilty of sometimes reacting with the same attitude.  

Once, when I was a 4th grade teacher, I needed something copied for my students. I ran up to the workroom, started the copier and ran back to class. Evidently, it jammed, and I wasn’t there to handle the problem. Someone else came to use the copier, found it jammed, and left a snarky message scrawled on a Post-it-Note. 

I’m not sure why, but the message hit me sideways. I picked up a stack of sticky notes and went to town on a reply. My response ended up being 7 Post-it-Notes stuck together, and I placed it in her box.  

At once, I felt convicted of my behavior and decided to retrieve the note, but found the box empty. So, I went to the assistant principal and told her what I had done. She pulled the series of notes out of her desk and said, “Are you talking about this?”  Man, was I embarrassed.  

What in the world caused me to treat someone like this? Whatever the excuse, I definitely was not walking with the Spirit. 

What if I had used an uncommon approach to the unkind words left for me? If I had taken a moment and asked Jesus to help me see her through His eyes, I’m sure my response would have been very different.

We have no idea what experiences people have endured. What if we knew their backstory? Would we react differently? What if we assumed that something in their background fueled that annoying, protective mechanism, insecurity, or use of their sharp tongue?

Jesus knows every ounce of our story, and He is so loving and merciful to us. We can’t know everyone like He does, but we can ask Him to give us insight and love for the ones who challenge us in these ways. 

It’s truly the only way to avoid embarrassing reactions that we have to apologize for later. 

Johna Clemons