Where's my compassion?

I'm a deer in headlights! My hands are up! I'm caught!

It's unfortunate to live in a culture so entangled in materialism and cut-throat corporate business. Everyone seems to be trying to "one up" their neighbor or out do their own brother.

Is this the way it should be?

It sounds like we live in a culture similar to Jerusalem in Ezekial chapter 16.
In scripture, Ezekiel writes about how from it's birth, Jerusalem was not pitied, it was a city who was confident, maturing and becoming beautiful (Jerusalem is paralleled to a woman). God clothed the people with fine linens and placed a crown on the city's head. Fame spread. Jerusalem was perfect because of the things God had given them. Verse 15 says, "But [she] trusted in [her] beauty, and played a whore because of [her] fame, and lavished [her] whorings on any passer-by. [She] took some of [her] garments, and made for [herself] colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. Despite all this, God continued to bless the city but they were not satisfied. "How sick is your heart, says the LORD GOD, that you did all these things" (verse 30)... I am a competitive person. I want my work to be perfect. I try to accomplish things without flaws. I do my best in order to gain acceptance and approval. In all honesty, my life is self-centered. The passage keeps going, but that last verse caught me. How sick is my heart? "I want...", "I need", "I have to get"... what about the "how can I help", "what can I give", "What do YOU need". I unfortunately caught myself, so self-centered, annoyed by others, trying to please only me. I should joyfully be thinking about how I can help others. What does the person sitting beside me need and how can I help him/her today?

Looking around I see the blessings I have, the extra time I have... I need to start looking for ways to use my blessings to help others who are in need. To think outside myself... to start with my family, my friends, my community, my neighbor, my coworker, my boss, the homeless... the "everyone else".

My prayer today is that my eyes would be open to ways I can show compassion, that my choices would be different than the average American. I need to change. I always ask for grace... it's time I start giving it to others! Instead of feeling guilty, defeated, caught, my goal is to think about what Christ has called me to do... simply love my neighbor. As a Christian this theme seems to capture my attention every once in a while. I say that to say it takes accountability and lots of discipline.

How can you show compassion today?