Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Romans 12:15 NIV
Toward the end of his long letter to the Romans, Paul urges his readers to love one another. He gives them several ideas about what that means. Then, he tells them to put others first, to share with people in need, and to open their homes to one another. He tells them not to be proud or conceited but to “live in harmony with one another” (12:16).
Perhaps the best way to live in harmony with others is to practice empathy. Empathy is not pity—it’s not feeling bad for someone. It’s the act of understanding someone’s experience and feeling it with them.
Empathy is practiced not just by sending flowers but by going to the funeral home, sitting beside the casket, holding the mourner’s hand, and crying with her. Your tears are real. You feel sad because you can imagine her sadness. You mourn with her because you can understand her loss, and you grieve that anyone has to experience that loss.
Empathy is practiced not just by congratulating someone, but by embracing that person in her joy and feeling happy because she is happy. It’s being genuinely glad for her celebration—even if her victory has nothing at all to do with you.
When you get close enough to practice empathy, it’s very hard to be divided. And that’s the whole point.
Lord, help me feel what others are feeling. Amen.
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Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2018 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Marian Leslie.