Luke 10:30 (NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
While we may not meet people who are injured in an accident or robbery, we are surrounded by people who are going through different kinds of suffering every day. Since we live in a broken world, we will all go through challenges, conflicts or pain in our lives—nobody is spared. Therefore, when someone is experiencing difficulties, we should not be judgemental, but be gracious, kind and gentle to them instead.
We probably know of people who have been made redundant, are going through depression, a chronic or terminal illness, divorce, or the loss of a loved one. These people are left to suffer on their own and are just like the victim in the Good Samaritan. Though it may seem that some of these people would rather be left alone, it doesn’t mean they don’t need help; it could be because they are too shy to reach out or share their struggles with anyone. We should pray for these people and reach out to them at the right time, and meanwhile reach out to those who are open to a listening ear.
We should strive to understand by listening, be present by spending time with them, and refrain from giving advice or over-process the matter. We need to remember that most of us are not professionals and very often we are in no position to comment or advise someone where professional help is needed.
Something that many people are suffering from is poor self-image. It is an emotional baggage that needs to be dealt with before it escalates into other issues. Many of us have developed our identities based on our sense of self-worth, which in turn is based on our achievements. As we grow in life, we have different sets of cheerleaders to stoke our egos, such as parents, friends on social media and bosses, and we take pride in our identity when we outperform others, but this is how we identify ourselves in the old man. Because we live in a broken and fallen world, people will only cheer for us when we do well because the world operates on conditional love. We should help people recognise that their self-worth is in Christ and not of this world.
Romans 12:15 (NKJV) Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
We will be able to truly care for those who are suffering if we can empathise with them. That’s what it means to weep with those who weep and rejoice with them when they experience a breakthrough.
Sermon Series: Keep the Peace (Part 2)
为有需要的人提供真诚的帮助
路加福音10:30 耶稣回答说、有一个人从耶路撒冷下耶利哥去、落在强盗手中、他们剥去他的衣裳、把他打个半死、就丢下他走了。
虽然我们可能不会遇到在事故或抢劫中受伤的人，但我们周围的人每天都在经历各种各样的痛苦。因为我们生活在一个破碎的世界里，我们都会经历挑战、冲突或痛苦—没有人能幸免。因此，当有人遇到困难时，我们不应该评判他们，而应该亲切、善良、温柔地对待他们。
我们可能知道有些人被解雇了，正在经历抑郁症、慢性病或绝症、离婚或失去亲人。这些人就像好撒玛利亚人中的受害者一样，独自承受痛苦。虽然看起来有些人宁愿 一个人待着，但这并不意味着他们不需要帮助; 这可能是因为他们太害羞了，不敢与任何人接触或分享他们的挣扎。我们应该为这些人祈祷，在适当的时候向他们伸出援手，同时向那些愿意敞开倾诉的人伸出援手。
我们应该努力通过倾听来理解他们，花时间和他们在一起，避免给出建议或过度处理问题。我们需要记住，我们大多数人都不是专业人士，在需要专业帮助的时候，我们不应该发表评论或提出建议。
很多人都饱受自我形象不佳的困扰。这是一种情感包袱，需要在它升级为其他问题 之前处理掉。我们中的许多人在自我价值感的基础上建立了自己的身份，而自我价值感又基于我们的成就。随着我们的成长，我们有不同的啦啦队来激发我们的自我,比如父母、社交媒体上的朋友和上司，当我们表现得比别人好时，我们会为自己的身份感到自豪，但这就是我们在老我身上识别自己的方式。因为我们生活在一个破碎和堕落的世界里，人们只会在我们做得好的时候为我们欢呼，因为这个世界是有条件的爱。我们应该帮助人们认识到，他们的自我价值在基督里，而不属于这个世界。
罗马书12:15 与喜乐的人要同乐，与哀哭的人要同哭。
如果我们能感同身受，我们就能真正关心那些受苦的人。这就是和那些哭泣的人一起哭泣，当他们经历突破时和他们一起欢乐的意义。
讲章系列: 保持你的平安 (第二部分)
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