Don't Put Your Blinders On!

Horses can be easily distracted or spooked so if your livelihood depended on getting a horse to go somewhere in an quick and efficient fashion then you would want to use blinders. Back in the day when horses for used for almost everything blinders were a common sight, now you would probably have to go to the racetrack to see them. Contrary to how they sound they are not cruel - thank goodness!, they do however restrict how much a horse can see and generally limit the horse to only seeing out in front of them.

Now you may be wondering what horses have to do with Compassion...well not much really! The relevant thing is the blinders - because even though you cannot see them humans often wear blinders too. The blinders we wear also keep us from being distracted but instead of traffic or crowds that the blinders are blocking out it is poverty and suffering. It is distressing and inconvenient to learn about poverty and suffering, it makes us feel uncomfortable and highlights one of the ways that the world is broken as well as often seeming an insurmountable problem. However as Christians we need to be following Christ's example and compassionately engaging with people who are suffering and in poverty. With Jesus' help we can make a big difference and reduce the problem! We cannot do everything but we can definitely do a lot more than we think we can! Also the more you engage with those that need your help, the more you read about them, think about them, learn about them, be around them, the more you will be compelled to help them and be Christ to them. Jesus' love is like a fountain it pours down onto us from him and is meant to pour off us onto others, Jesus did not take the easy way out, he did not ignore the problem or only help out a little, he was extravagant in his generosity and we should also be extravagant in our generosity - loving much because we have been loved much!

It is hard to live life with our blinders off and we cannot fix everything but as Christians we should be compelled by Jesus' love for us to go forth and be extravagantly generous to others, it will make a big difference and with God all things are possible! Let us go forth and be generous with our time, our money, and our prayers for we have the best reason to be - we have been shown overwhelming generosity by the creator of heaven and earth - God himself!