Courageous Disciples, Week 4, Day 3

Read

John 8:21-30

If you’re not comfortable in the world of emotions and not fluent in the language of feelings, welcome to the land of normal. If find yourself there, you’re in good company. You also have an opportunity to learn and grow. The empathy skills we’re exploring today are not easy. In fact, in the scripture passage, we see how quickly you can move from empathy to confusion.

Empathy: Read John 8:22. The Jews are concerned. They’re wondering if something horrible is going to happen. Is he going to hurt himself?

Confusion: Read John 8:27.  They did not understand.

Sympathy: While this isn’t in the passage, I’m including it here because sympathy and empathy are often confused. Empathy is about feeling with people. The concern for Jesus’ life could have spiraled into feeling sorry for him. Sympathy is feeling for people. It does not foster a connection. Empathy is feeling with people. It fosters connection.

Reflect

Consider a moment you were misunderstood. What did you feel at that moment? Were you hurt, embarrassed, frustrated, disappointed, or something else? Reference the list of core emotions to push beyond the three emotions, “Happy, sad, mad” that most of us CAN identify.

Respond

Seek today to understand the emotions of someone important to you. Practice communicating your understanding of their feelings. Remember to focus on connecting with the emotion, not the experience to practice empathy. Also, keep in mind if you’re slipping into trying to feel for the person that is important to you. That’s sympathy, not empathy. Keep practicing, even when you don’t get it right. That’s how we learn.

Pray