Care

“Do you care? Do you really care?”

These were words spoken to Floyd McClung by a mentor of his when he was young. And these words struck me as I read them. I want to serve, and give, and help people, but how can I do any of that if I don’t first care? I say I have a heart for Europe, a heart for youth, a heart for Neo-Pagans even, but when I actually meet any of these people face to face, do I really care about them? Do I care enough to get involved - involved in their lives and in their pain and brokeness?

Today these thoughts and questions came back to me again as I read from “Out of Solitude” by Henri Nouwen.

“Real care is not ambiguous. Real care excludes indifference and is the opposite of apathy. The word care finds its roots in the Gothic Kara, which means lament. The basic meaning of care is “to grieve, to experience sorrow, to cry out with.” I am very much struck by this background of the word care because we tend to look at caring as an attitude of the strong toward the week, of the powerful toward the powerless, of the have’s toward the have-not’s. And, in fact, we feel quite uncomfortable with an invitation to enter into someone’s pain before doing something about it.”

“Why is it that we keep that great gift of care so deeply hidden? Why is it that we keep giving dimes without daring to look into the face of the beggar? Why is it that we do not join the lonely eater in the dining hall but look for those we know so well? Why is it that we so seldom knock on a door or grab a phone, just to say hello, just to show that we have been thinking about each other? Why are smiles still hard to get and words of comfort so difficult to come by? Why is it so hard to express thanks to a teacher, admiration to a student, and appreciation to the men and women who cook, clean, and garden? Why do we keep bypassing each other always on the way to something or someone more important?”

So, do I really care? I have to be honest, sometimes yes, sometimes no. But I follow a God who has taught me so much thus far, and I am confident that He will also teacher me to care so deeply for the people He sends me to.

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