Cultivate Compassion for "All Sorts of People" - IMITATE JESUS' COMPASSION

Like his Father, Jesus felt pity for the people "Because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.' (Matthew 9:36)  Jesus understood why they were in that situation. It was because their religious leaders treated them badly and taught them lies. And even though Jesus knew that many who came to listen to him would for various reasons not become his followers, he still taught them many things. - MARK 4:1-9. 

When people react in a negative way to our message, we need to even try to understand why they do so.  Maybe they have a bad opinion about the Bible or about Christians because they have seen that some who call themselves Christians do bad things. Others may have heard lies about what we believe. Still others may be afraid that their relatives or people from their community will ridicule them if they talk to us. 

Some people we meet ma have had terrible experiences that affected them deeply.  A missionary named Kim says that many people in her territory survived a war and lost everything they had.  They have no real hope for the future.  They are frustrated and do not trust anyone. People in the territory often try to stop Witnesses from preaching. One time Kim was even attacked while she was in the ministry.

How does Kim remain compassionate, even when people treat her badly?  She always tries to remember Proverbs 19:11, which says:  "The insight of a man certainly slows down his anger."  When she thinks about what the people in her territory went through, it helps her to feel compassion for them. And not everyone she meets is unfriendly.  In that same territory, she had some good return visits. 

We can ask ourselves:  "If I did not know the truth, how would I react if Jehovah's Witnesses came to preach to me?  For example, what if we had heard many lies about the Witnesses?  Perhaps we too would react in a negative way and would need to be treated with compassion. Jesus said that we must treat others the way we would like to be treated> so we must try to understand how others feel and be patient with them, even if its is difficult. - MATTHEW 7:12.

Next time: Cultivate Compassion for "All Sorts of People" -  IMITATE PAUL'S COMPASSION

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