The Fayette Tribune, Oak Hill, W.Va.

Local News

July 19, 2012

Who cares for you?

Pastor's Corner

By Mark Wood

Psalm 142:4 says, “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me; refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” The psalmist had come to the point that he wondered if anyone really cared about him.

If you were living in the days of King David, would you have been one of those of which he spoke in Psalm 142:4? We are living in a generation of hurting people. They want to know that someone cares about their lives and their eternal destiny. To care means “to have thought or regard toward another” or “to feel concern about.” Have you ever found yourself in the shoes of the psalmist? Perhaps there have been those times that you wondered if anyone cares about you. How can we show people we really care about them?

We can begin with the words we use. If you truly care about God’s people you should tell them so. How long has it been since you told someone that you loved them in and through the Lord? Sure, you may get a strange reaction at first, but if you have a genuine love then that small moment of awkwardness is no big deal. Even though I married my wife and take care of her, she still wants to hear and needs to hear from me verbally that I love her. It is not for us to assume that others know we love and appreciate them. It is our responsibility to verbally let them know we care.

Next we can show it by our works, the things we do. It is one thing to tell someone that we love him or her, and then turn around and speak differently in our actions. How do we show we care for others in our lives?

First, give attention. You pay attention to those you love. Secondly, give protection. If you really love someone, you want to protect them, even if you must reprove or correct at times. Thirdly, give preference. If you love someone deeply, their preferences will be more important than your own. Lastly, be genuine.  When you are genuine there is no sense of self-serving motives. Remember, it’s never about you.

We show we care by our willingness. Because there are so few who are willing to let others know they care about them, we should be willing to be a help and blessing to others.

First, be willing to share someone’s load. The Bible instructs to “bear one another’s burdens.” Secondly, be willing to speak to God about them. Lifting each other up in prayer is a blessing to the one being prayed for as well as the one praying. Lastly, be willing to speak to them about God. How can we say we really care about someone if we are not willing to speak to them about God? Our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the greatest thing we possess. We should want to share it with others just as much as we like sharing about our favorite restaurant or the latest movie we have seen.

Find someone this week. Let them know you care for them. Let them know God cares for them. Let them know that although the world may place no value on their soul, God does. Let’s let others know we care about them and point them toward the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Wood is pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Oak Hill, and a member of the Fayette Plateau Ministerial Association.)

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