Jump Start # 1211

Colossians 3:12 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”

  Last evening I got to preach at a wonderful congregation in my area. The guest preacher that they had for the week got ill and so I was called to pinch hit. Glad to do it. Great people. I preached from our text today. I especially like the expression, “Put on a heart of compassion”. That simply means care. Care about others. Multiple times in the Gospels Jesus “felt compassion.” He cared. He never seemed bothered. He never said, “Leave me alone.” When interrupted, He answered a question, or went with a person to help a sick or dying family member. People flocked to Him because not only could He do something but He cared.

One of the complaints many patients have regarding their doctors is that some seem to lack bedside manners. That’s a polite way of saying, they lack heart. Maybe they are too busy. Maybe they never learned. This dilemma isn’t confined to doctors, churches can leave that impression. It doesn’t take too much for a person to quickly realize that they are not welcomed nor wanted at a place. Cold. Stares. Little, if any, going out of the way to make a person feel accepted. Doesn’t  matter what is said from the pulpit, the cold atmosphere from the folks sitting in the pews will kill the future and the growth of that church. The opposite of compassion is indifferent, insensitive, heartless. The Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz was looking for a heart. It’d do well for many others to get in line behind him and look for the same thing. Heartless words. Cutting remarks. Cruel tones. Mean. None of that belongs in the heart of a Christian. We are, from our passage, to put on a heart of compassion. The “putting on” part is a choice. We choose to be compassionate or we choose not to be.

In Mark 4, when the disciples were crossing the sea and a fierce storm rocked their boat and it started filling up with water. Frightened, they woke Jesus up and asked Him a question. Their words were worse than the storm about them. They didn’t ask if He could do anything about the situation. They never asked if He had seen anything like this before. No, what they did ask was, “Do you not care that we are perishing.” Do you not care? Why did Jesus come to earth? Because He cared. Why did He put up with all the faithless remarks of the multitudes? Because He cared. Why was He keeping an appointment with the cross? Because He cared. Fewer things hurt more than, “You don’t care.”

Said in a marriage, it reveals a deep riff that will take a lot of work to heal and fix. Said among friends, and it’s the beginning of the end for that friendship. Said at work, it could be the very thing that gets you replaced. You don’t care. What is interesting is that care is demonstrated. We show we care by what we do.

Our verse follows with the expression put on a heart of “Kindness.” Kindness is compassion in action. Kindness never goes before compassion. Because a person cares, they will do kind things. Jesus felt compassion and fed the multitudes. Jesus felt compassion and healed the sick. Jesus felt compassion and did something. Without the kindness part, all we have is words. We can say, “Sure I care,” but how have we shown it. Compassion is demonstrated through kind acts, kind deeds, kind words, kind gifts. Kindness is compassion in action. In a marriage, kindness is the little sprinkles on top of a cupcake. Kindness is having your favorite meal and it’s not even your birthday. Kindness is watching a movie with your wife instead of a ballgame. Kindness is picking up around the house. Kindness is flowers and notes. Kindness is sweet. Marriages need that. The daily grind of schedules can leave us tired, irritated and wondering why we are doing what we are doing. Kindness recognizes the effort. Kindness appreciates.

In a congregation, compassion is expressed by kindness. Hugs and smiles and laughter and being together are all part of this. Supporting one another and being there for one another is part of kindness. The sports world has taken a fancy to those young Kansas City Royals. They don’t play conventional baseball. They are fast. They take chances. They get shallow hits that seem to work. They work well as a team and play incredible defense. When a great play is made the pitchers tip their hats to their fellow team mates. They do this so often that it catches the eyes of the commentators. They’ve never seen team players tip their hats to each other as often as the Royals do. They are expressing their appreciation for one another. It’s simply an act of kindness. Nothing big, but in a world of big salaries and big egos, it goes a long way to reinforce that baseball is a team sport. Everyone needs each other. Those tipping hats have got my attention. It’s a form of compassion and kindness.

We do well to tip our hats more and point our fingers less. It’s easy to complain. It’s easy to see what needs fixing. It’s easy to take one another for granted. But bless those who are working hard. Sure it’s their job and certainly that’s what they are supposed to do, but tip a hat to the once in a while. It’ll put a smile on their face and let them realize that you notice what they are doing.

Here’s a few tips of the hat:

• To those that do a great job at cleaning the church building. It’s hard work. I’ve been some places that really look like a dump. It’s shameful. But I’ve been to many places, and especially to my place, where it’s clean, sparkling, and inviting. The isn’t a burned out light bulb to be found. The bathrooms look and smell nice. The books are stacked up. The place has been dusted, swept and readied for the worshippers of God. Now in the big picture of salvation, a clean church building probably isn’t a game changer, but it sure is nice and speaks well of those who work hard at it. TIP OF THE HAT TO THOSE FOLKS.

• To those hard working teachers and preachers who are eager and ready to teach God’s word. Those folks have studied in the evenings. They have written things out, printed them and have a  heart that wants to teach. The bulletin is always printed. The lessons are thought out and ready. Young preachers who work hard learning and finding the best way to do their best are such a great plus for any congregation. Zack is our guy where I’m at. Young, powerful, dynamic, smart, talented and just busting it for the Lord. He even makes an old guy like me look good. TIP OF THE HAT TO THOSE FOLKS.

• To the amazing shepherds in a congregation who truly understand that their work isn’t about buying sweepers, writing checks or doing the monthly schedule. They know that their work is the sheep. They love the sheep. They want the sheep to do well. They pray for the sheep. They are in the homes meeting families. Often their work is with broken lives and broken promises. There are working on wounded hearts and discouraged souls. They simply won’t give up on people. Hours and hours are poured into making things better for the church. These men have compassion at the core of all they do. There are a group of six where I’m at that are just like this. Amazing. Loving. Busy. Honest. Godly. TIP OF THE HAT TO THOSE FOLKS.

• To the many Jump Start readers who have encouraged me and through your efforts spread our little devotions world wide. Our readership tops 2,000 people. Nearly every day someone sends me an email about something I wrote. There is a question, a correction, a thought or some heart that has been touched. It’s is amazing. Just one example, as services ended last evening where I was filling in, a wonderful gentleman came up to me and said earnestly, “Don’t ever quit those Jump Starts.” Wow. I don’t know what good we have done but through your help many people have given thought to the Lord. I would have never reached so many of these without your compassion and help. TIP OF THE HAT TO THOSE FOLKS.

Now it’s your turn? Who would you tip your hat to? Your spouse? Your parents? Look around today and notice who is really doing a good job. Let them know that. Tip your hat to them.

Kindness and compassion—the Lord knows we need those. That’s why the Bible says, “Put them on…”

Roger