Indiscriminate Compassion

K has an ear infection and my car's airbags have been malfunctioning requiring a major repair. As a result, I spent my entire morning in waiting rooms. The only upside to all that waiting was that I was able to do a lot of reading.

On page 75 of Abba's Child, Brennan Manning discusses what our call as believers to "indiscriminate compassion." I was not familiar with this term and loved the definition offered by Anthony DeMello in The Way to Love:

"Take a look at a rose. Is it possible for the rose to say, 'I'll offer my fragrance to good people and withhold it from bad people?' Or can you imagine a lamp that withholds its rays from a wicked person who seeks to walk in his light? It could do that only by ceasing to be a lamp. And observe how helplessly and indiscriminately a tree gives its shade to everyone, good and bad, young and old, high and low; to animals to humans and every living creature--even to the one who seeks to cut it down. This is the first quality of compassion--its indiscriminate character."

Wow! These analogies really struck a chord with me. I am, regretfully, guilty of withholding my love as an expression of my disapproval, not just with my family, but with my neighbors. I really am mindful of not passing this along to my children.

As we left the pediatrician's office today (less than an hour after reading, underlining and mulling this passage) I had my first opportunity to pass along this truth.
K: "Why did you smile at that man workin' on the sidewalk?"
M: "Because I wanted to show him kindness. Remember God tells us to be kind and loving to people?"
K: "Even when they are not nice?"
M: "Yes."
K: "Even when they have a cig-a-wet in their mouth?"
I giggled a little, then I cringed. I went on to give her a mini-lecture about how people with cigarettes aren't bad, they have just made a bad choice. We all make bad choices, including she and I, but we still love each other, etc...

I couldn't help but wonder if I am already creating little Pharisees? Agggghhh! I stopped short of quoting Manning and DeMello in my mini-lecture--but those analogies are so great, I am going to have to find a way to work them in.

And because I am far more shallow in real life than I am as I ramble here, I returned K to preschool, moved on to the car repair place and spent the remaining hour and half of waiting room time with Manning in my purse as I read People magazine and Real Simple from cover to cover.