Has the church lost all sense of urgency in responding to pain and suffering?

As an adult, I’ve had a couple minor surgeries, but it was when I was a teenager I had knee surgery that was a pretty significant operation.

That was before they started doing much of the same kind of surgery arthroscopically. That’s why to this day I have a big “zipper” scar across my right knee. Instead of making a small incision and operating through that, they opened up my knee, and healing from that was … n o t a pleasant experience.

Especially since that was before the advanced pain management practiced today.

I was supposed to take a “pain pill” about every four hours … but that almost always arrived late.

I still remember in the early morning hours of that first night after my operation, writhing in pain in my hospital bed, begging the nurses for a “pain pill,” only to be told curtly, “It’s not time yet!”

No one seemed to have any sympathy or empathy for the pain I felt, and the suffering I was experiencing. There was no sense of urgency at all by the nursing staff to make sure my pain medication was administered on time, or to address my level of pain in any way.

I’m reminded of that experience when I see how today’s church seems to have little sympathy or empathy — and no sense of urgency — in responding to a lot of the pain and suffering around it. I routinely minister to people in great need, something they communicate to family, friends, and church family, yet with their pleas for help either falling on deaf, unsympathetic ears, or responded to with a great lack of urgency.

The problem with having no sense of urgency in responding to the pain and suffering of others we’re aware of can be understood with the most basic level of common sense: Our lack of urgency to minister to the pain and suffering of others PROLONGS THEIR PAIN AND SUFFERING!

Is it any wonder, then, that the wisdom book of the Bible, Proverbs, instructs as follows:

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, ‘Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you,'” Proverbs 3:27-28.

Too many who profess to be followers of Christ today see and know of people who are in pain, are suffering and must have help to relieve it, yet are every bit as lackadaisical and indifferent as telling the neighbor in need to “come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”

For too many of us, if the need to relieve the pain and suffering of others is inconvenient to us right now, we’re more than willing to keep them waiting — and continuing in their suffering — before we finally get around to responding.

That is, if we ever do.

There’ a simple takeaway from this blog post, which is just what the Proverbs instruction teaches: When you’re able to help someone, DON’T KEEP THEM WAITING!

Your positive impact on lives will sky rocket just by fostering a sense of urgency in ministering to the needs of others.

Are their people in your life who you know are suffering that you could help but you’re keeping them waiting just because of a lack of urgency to be there for them?

Scotty