What If We Offered Compassion Instead?

A while ago, I was in Homeland buying groceries with my mother. At the time, my husband and I were still sharing a car and struggling to make ends meet. But God was good that week and He had given us extra money to splurge on some much needed groceries.

As we were checking out, there was a woman in front of us with a young boy. She wasn't dressed in fancy clothes. Her son looked like he needed a bath and a new jacket. She was buying a cart full of food and using what I assumed were some sort of food stamps or WIC.

After using her third sheet of paper to pay for food, I started to get impatient. She was in the 10 Items or Less line with three--maybe four--times the amount of items indicated by the sign. Her son was screaming and running around my cart. The line behind me continued to grow.

I started getting angry.

Finally, after what felt like a century, her food was all paid for and her groceries were bagged. She rounded up her son and headed out of the grocery store. 

I paid for my items and then walked out the sliding glass doors not long after the woman did. There she was again. Loading everything into a brand new red truck. And I found myself getting even angrier than before.

I said in an irritated tone to my mother, "She couldn't pay for food, but she had enough money to buy a new truck?"

There I was, standing in the middle of the Homeland parking lot, judging someone I didn't even know. I was angry and the words flowing out of my mouth were a reflection of that anger. They were bitter. They lacked compassion.

So, God decided it was the perfect moment to convict me. And convict me He did!

"What if she borrowed that truck to get her groceries?" The voice was quiet, but I knew where it came from. Suddenly, all that anger and bitterness boiling beneath the surface subsided.

What if she had borrowed the truck from a friend or family member? I didn't know the intricate details of her life. I didn't know her struggles or failures. I didn't know what a day in her shoes felt like. Yet, I was judging her because I decided to fill in the missing pieces. 

Recently, my pastor said something that really spoke volumes to me. Each child of God has a different relationship with Him. He deals with all of us differently. What He's convicted me of, He may not have convicted someone else of yet. We don't walk the same paths. 

Lately, I've been trying--with God's help of course!--to offer others compassion instead of my opinion. I don't always succeed, but I'm grateful God always extends His compassion to me regardless of my triumph or failure. 

I wonder what this world would look like if we did the same? What if we offered others compassion instead of advice? What if we extended kindness instead of our opinion? What if we gave love instead of judgment? 

Though it's taken me a while to understand this, we don't know the intricate details of others' lives--only God does.