People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. We live in a world today where people are looking for someone who cares.
My dad was the best man that I have ever known. I saw him care for the least, the lost, the lousy, and those on the lowest social level. He didn’t finish college until I was in the 5th grade. He didn’t talk about caring – he cared and did something about it.
God called my dad home 11 years ago. I can still hear a lot of his words ringing in my ear. I really miss hm. I have some questions I would like to ask him. I would love to hear him preach again. I would love to watch him lead congregational singing. I would love to thank him again for introducing me to Jesus. I would love to thank him again for showing all of us that ministry is exciting, fun, and worth giving 100% to it.
We moved him to Montgomery where he spent the last years of his life at the Wesley Gardens retirement home. We used my home address for his home address so I could handle his business affairs.
On September 11, 2017, I received a letter addressed to Mr. Si Mathison at my home address. I opened the letter and was shocked to discover it was from a great caring organization. It is relying too much on technology to express how much they care. It was basically a computer-generated letter to my dad.
The letter began, “We want to thank you for being a member of our family and tell you how much your support was missed this past year.” The letter was encouraging him to contribute financially and continue praying as a “vital role” in helping respond to the needs of people.
The letter ended by asking him to give again today. If my dad were alive today, he would give again! There was a postscript to the letter that said, “If you have already sent your gift, many thanks.”
The letter was about caring about the needs for others, but the technological blip in their mailing list failed to express the authentic care they had for my dad. I don’t want to be too hard on that organization because it can happen anywhere. It can also happen with individuals who innocently don’t realize someone has died.
Jesus told a story about a man who was overtaken by thieves. He was robbed and beaten and left along the highway. Two men, quite religious and represented an organization that ought to care, saw the man but didn’t have time to stop. They had other important business to “care” about. They passed by on the other side of the road.
Jesus then told about a common person from another race who showed genuine care for the wounded man. He was the least likely person to be the hero who cared. He did the best he could to bind up his wounds and carried him to a nearby hospital and told the people to look after him and he would be back soon and would be glad to pay the bill.
Am I more like the two religious people who had too many more important things to take care of? How many of us would be like the man who didn’t preach and teach and talk about caring but cared? Caring is a mark of greatness. Jesus said, “Your care for others is the measure of your greatness” (Luke 9:48).
Care is best defined not by what it means as a noun, but what it does as a verb. (Tweet this) Care is more about walking than talking. It’s not about how much you know – but how much you care!
