Over the last couple of years I have been more aware of the plights of my students and the difficult situations in which many of them live. I also began visiting with a young man who was incarcerated at a prison near my home. When visiting with my students I provide a sympathetic ear and encouraging words and with the young prisoner I have encouraged him to leave the friends he was hanging with and make new friends who would provide support for him and would encourage him to make wise choices. I feel as if I am becoming more compassionate and I am trying to take steps to help others to experience that compassion.
Today I read words from Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life, by Donald McNeill, Douglas Morrison and Henri Nouwen that challenge me. They write, “Honest, direct confrontation is a true expression of compassion. … We cannot suffer with the poor when we are unwilling to confront those persons and systems that cause poverty. We cannot set the captives free when we do not want to confront those who carry the keys. We cannot profess our solidarity with those who are oppressed when we are unwilling to confront the oppressor. Compassion without confrontation fades quickly into fruitless sentimental commiseration.” By nature, I am not a confrontational person. I do everything I can to avoid conflict so this call to confrontation does not sit well with me.
Yesterday I had a conversation with a friend of mine about the immigration issues we face in our country. I have a friend who entered the country illegally as a small child when her parents came here from Mexico. She is unable to get a job to support her two young children even though she is married to an American citizen and has been educated by our educational system. As I spoke with my friend I expressed my frustration that the policies of our government allow her to remain in this country but do not allow her to provide for her family. I’m not sure the steps that need to be taken to confront what seems to me to be an injustice but, in this case, supporting her and encouraging her do little to change her situation. The policies and practices of our government agencies need to change.
The authors of the quote above would suggest that I need to confront the government and work for change. Since my nature is not confrontational I would like to think God will call someone else to that mission while I simply supply support and encouragement. I should probably pray for that but I hesitate to do so because, in my experience, when I pray, God often replies, “Well, why don’t you do something about it?” and I want to avoid the conflict. Just call me chicken.
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