The Brokenness of People

Most of my life, I have been a people watcher. I tend to observe the inner actions between people, their body languages, facial expressions, words they say, etc. I like to know what makes people tick...understand them. Even strangers. I often watch and wonder what is going on that makes them do what they do. Sometimes, in my busy days and/or my cynicism, I forget to realize that every person is broken in some way, shape or form. Yes, it is true. Listen to their story and you will find this out. Even the most together person has cracks and slivers of brokenness that need healing. Life has a way of doing that in this sinful world. Every person has a story that makes them say or do the things they do. Most try to hide it from the world and especially their close friends and relatives but the broken scars are still there. 

What everyone needs (along with Jesus) is to feel understood, to feel loved unconditionally and to feel like they matter in this world. (I think I've posted about that particular subject before but it bears repeating) To provide these things there must above all be compassion. Compassion sees the hurt and damage behind the words and behavior. Compassion allows you to reach out and to be understanding and help them. 

Over the past couple of years the Lord has worked on my mind and heart about judging others' habits and addictions. By the way, habits ARE addictions! I had a thought a couple years ago (probably from the Holy Spirit) that who are you to be judgmental about someone else's addiction just because theirs is illegal or if not should be due to the harm it leads to in their own lives and those around them. Examples are drugs, alcohol and smoking. My addiction to soda is also harmful. Food addiction is harmful, too. Now, when I talk about being judgmental, I'm not talking about "judge not lest ye be judged". This is often misused scripture for those who want to continue in sin. When the Bible says this, it means not to judge in condemnation. (to think you are better than them) God does expect us to make decisions about right and wrong and to judge righteous judgment. If we do not, how can we follow the command to come out from among them and be ye separate? I confess that in the past I have been guilty of feeling superior to those with chemical dependency or alcohol and even felt disdain for them. I have worked up close and personal in a Christian addiction recovery program to try to help people. I have seen in friends and family members the lies, destruction of the body and relationships and families so I allowed my heart to become hardened towards these folks. After struggling with giving up soda, I fully understand addiction! Now, I do not understand wanting to try drugs in the first place but I DO understand trying to quit. (I say I don't understand wanting to try it in the first place but really it probably has to do with whatever brokenness has come their way) By the way, while working in the recovery program, many used to say that cigarettes were much harder to quit than illegal drugs. 

As I said, EVERYONE is broken in some way. Some only have some cracks, some have big cracks that they have allowed to mend but scars are still present and some are shattered so severely that it could take a whole life time to be mended. 

I don't think anyone but God knows just how many people walking the earth have been sexually, physically or verbally abused. Only God knows how many have been through emotional and/or physical trauma so traumatic that they cry inside every single day. And here's the thing, sometimes it doesn't have to be a major trauma. What is a small thing to one person is completely devastating to another. 

I reckon this post is just to make people realize that maybe the person being a jerk or being rude today is broken. Of course, the biggest brokenness is the severed relationship between God and man that can only be fixed by Jesus. Some days I just look around and am saddened by the fact that less people know Jesus than most people realize. Even professing Christians speak and act out in ways they shouldn't due to how they were broken in the past. Maybe we should realize that what all need is kindness, or a hug, or understanding and without a doubt COMPASSION!