IS IT THE GOVERNMENTS JOB TO TAKE CARE OF THIS MAN, OR OURS AS BELIEVERS?

1 John 3:17  But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 

This picture literally breaks my heart.  I don't know about you and where your walk is with Jesus, but this is a photo of someone He would stop to help.  The sad fact is how many of us believers would pass this man by without a second glance?  I for one have been guilty of passing by people like this.  My thoughts run wild with newspaper clipping about being attacked or worse.  Oh now don't judge me, be honest, you have passed by people like this too.  We feel helpless sometimes and don't know what we can do, so we do nothing.  Where is our compassion?  What happened to our willingness to help others?  Are we so consumed with our own problems that we just figure out that the government can handle them?  

Okay let me be more realistic here, where has our compassion gone when we see someone in our own family that seems down and a bit depressed?  Do we sit compassionately and just hold them and listen to them or do we jump all over them?  "What's your problem?"  "You should be happy, what's wrong with you?"  "I just don't get you!" These questions and many more comments are ones we make on a daily basis.  Maybe we do not come across the homeless on an every day basis, but we do come across family and friends that deserve a little compassion.  We sometimes honestly have no patience to have compassion for those closest to us.  Although I do have to be honest here, there are some people who dwell in drama on a daily basis.  They play the pity me card to get attention, I'm not talking about the drama kings and queens.  I am talking about those family members, those friends that are normally in a happy state.  Those are the ones we often judge without compassion.  

Too often we are so wrapped up in our own problems that we do not want to sit and listen to someone elses problems.  My friends, I have learned many valuable lessons on this verse.  We cannot continue to shut our hearts off from those in need, whether it be the homeless man on the street, the orphan, the widow or your family,   It is easy to see the homeless man and realize he needs help and have compassion.  It's also easy to just walk away from him.  It's easy to witness the orphan or the widow who is lonely and depressed and have compassion.  It's also just as easy to walk away from them.  But when it comes to people we live with or work with we seem to have no compassion.  Why?  Because we don't understand?  Because we don't want to waste our time trying to understand?  

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to have a heart filled with compassion. We need to do whatever we can, we need to do whatever is necessary to heal the hurts of others, whether we understand them or not.  Jesus stopped to heal so many people that we would judge as non deserving. Jesus had compassion on many we would just pass by.  Jesus had compassion for those no one else did.  Prostitutes, tax collectors, murders, homeless, lepers, are just a few of the people Jesus had compassion for.  Now days we are so quick to judge others that we miss the opportunity to show the compassion of Jesus Christ.  My question for you is;  are we really believers in Jesus Christ if we shut our hearts of compassion off and don't stop to help heal others physically, spiritually, mentally or financially?  

Lord, develop in me a heart of compassion for those in need.  Open my eyes, my ears and my heart to see where you need me to be your hands and feet.  Forgive me for the times I have walked by.  In Jesus name I pray, amen!