Five Minute Friday - Care

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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.

does anyone care?

take care!

not a care in the world

caregiver

why should I care?

********************

I am bombarded every day by so many causes and pleas for my help or action. Causes I do support and some that I don't. The rallying cry is often "don't you care?" and sometimes there's an accompanying accusation that if one doesn't agree with that particular point of view it means "you obviously don't care". 

It gets overwhelming. We may care very much but can't get on board with a certain plan of action. Or we may care but decide not to donate. Or we may simply be tapped out and while we care we just don't have the energy or time or whatever to jump into the fray. The hard truth is that we have limits and we each need to choose how we respond and where our focus will lie. 

It's natural for us to care most deeply for those closest to us, and for our own well-being. Prioritizing care for myself or for my family doesn't mean I don't care about others. Looking after the needs of my children doesn't mean I don't care about any other children. 

Yet I've been accused of being selfish or of not caring about others simply because they disagree with me, or because they want everyone to do it the way they think it should be done. Which, ironically, is selfish. None of us should accuse others of selfishness or callousness on the basis of difference of opinion. That's a harsh judgment, and is usually unfair.

The Bible tells me that God cares about his entire creation, but above all he cares for people. It tells me that he cares so much about each person that he wants us to be in fellowship with him, and that he listens to our prayers. He wants to relieve us of our anxieties and fears. And he asks us to demonstrate our love for him by also caring for his people. That's our guidance in prioritizing what we care about and how we live. Care about people's souls above all. 

Jesus was asked "don't you care?" as well. With maybe a subtle accusation that he didn't! The disciples in the boat were frightened by the storm and cried, "don't you care if we drown?" And of course Jesus cared about his disciples, and knew they wouldn't drown, but there was a lesson in trust for them to learn. Martha was hurt and offended that Mary had chosen differently and tried to get Jesus to take her side: "Lord, don't you care that my sister isn't helping me?" It's probably not at all fair to say that Mary didn't care about doing her work or about her sister's feelings! I bet she did, but she had prioritized her Lord. And it's not that Jesus didn't care about Martha doing the work by herself. Jesus cared for Mary and for Martha - for their souls! - far more than he cared about whether dinner was ready on time. 

Lord, help me trust in your care for me and for everyone I care about. And help me to care most about what you care about most.

*******

When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?

~Psalm 8:3-4~

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

~I Peter 5:7~

 

This post is linked at Five Minute Friday for the word prompt "Care".

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