Compassion
 
"But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad as sheep having no Shepard (Matthew 9:36)."  Often times when we look back on our lives we wonder why it is that we have not made a difference in anyone else's life.  We work hard, we sacrifice much and often success is the by-product of our hard work.  But the question then becomes:  how do we measure success?  Is success measure by assets, or by an income statement?  If it is then success is limited to time and place. Then, if the economy suddenly takes a turn for the worst and we find ourselves financially destitute, are we then not successful.

As I look back on my life I remember pondering over my father who went from being a very rich man in our native country of Cuba to loosing it all and working at a Jackson Byron store as a janitor.  The fact that my father never complained about what I though was a 'bad hand' that life had dealt him, often irritated me.  Even at the age of 10 years old, I wonder if my father was a failure.  It would take many years for me to realize that my father was indeed a giant and that his success was not measured by dollars.

My father was a giant of a man not only because he faced his economic hardships with an amazing amount of dignity but also because he was a compassionate man.  He gave a hand to anyone whom he thought was less fortunate than us often times sacrificing food at our dinner table.  He had compassion on all who knocked at our door.  When he was not repaid the money he had given someone, he never complained.  Many times my mother would be angry because she believed those people were stilling from him, but to him they were not.  He would say, "How could they steal from me when I do not expect them to pay me back?"

It is hard to live up to my father's example.  It is my desire that if my children remember me for anything that it will be that I have compassion for others.  People are not a commodity to be exploited for x amount of time in the workplace.  They are God's creation and we must to show them the same compassion that Christ has shown us.

May God strengthen me to be compassionate to all who are scattered like a sheep without a Shepherd.

Meditation:  Take a moment of solitude and ask yourself when the last time you showed compassion to others.

Jorge L. Valdes, Ph.D.

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