I. True Empathy P 5
T-16.I.5. The triumph of weakness is not what you would offer to a brother. 2 And yet you recognize no triumph but this. 3 This is not knowledge, and the form of empathy which would bring this about is so distorted that it would imprison what it would release. 4 The unredeemed cannot redeem, yet they have a Redeemer. 5 Attempt to teach Him not. 6 You are the learner; He the Teacher. 7 Do not confuse your role with His, for this will never bring peace to anyone. 8 Offer your empathy to Him for it is His perception and His strength that you would share. 9 And let Him offer you His strength and His perception, to be shared through you.
Journal
Sympathy, constructed from the Greek “sym,” meaning together, and “pathos,” referring to feelings or emotion, is used to describe when one person shares the same feelings of another, such as when someone close is experiencing grief or loss. Empathy is a newer word also related to “pathos,” but there is a greater implication of emotional distance. With “empathy” you can imagine or understand to how someone might feel, without necessarily having those feelings yourself.
I seldom feel sympathy because I don’t believe in the world and because I know that the feelings that are triggered by the story we are reviewing are for the purpose of healing. I tend to feel happy for the person who now has a chance to be healed of some painful belief knowing that this is what it is for and that it is always possible to accomplish healing.
On the other hand, I do feel empathy in that I know how resistant we can be when faced with these deeply rooted beliefs and how painful it is when we resist. The problem is that the waters can be muddied in certain circumstances, especially if I, too, have the same belief, or if I had it for a long time and the healing is still new. The mind can slip back into old thinking if triggered. Then there is conflict in my mind. Part of my mind wants to feel bad and part knows this is not helpful.
This paragraph helps to deal with this kind of reaction. In fact, it can prevent the confusion altogether. Now when I notice I feel empathy, I am going to give it to the Holy Spirit straight away. I will let Him teach me how to perceive it and I will rely on His strength when I share. Now I never have to worry about what to say or do in any situation because I will be told. I will never add to someone’s confusion with my own. I will never weaken when I could strengthen. This is such a relief knowing I am not on my own; I always have Help.
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