Empathy is destroying me

[worthlessness1979]

As I was browsing the internet, I came across the story of a 13 year old boy who was severely beaten and tortured because he was accused of stealing a bike, which turned out to not be true. He was beaten by four men, while another man video taped it and placed it on social media. This was in Bangladesh. There was a video of him getting beaten and tortured. I did not watch the video and I won't watch the video. But I could see his face, and he was in so much pain.

 

This just breaks my heart. I know it is very girly for a grown man to say that this breaks my heart. But I don't care. It does. I cannot get the images out of my head.

 

It hurts so much to think of what that boy went through. I keep to imagining that I am that little boy getting beaten like that. I also Imagine that I was that boy's parents. I don't think I could survive knowing that somebody cause so much pain to someone that I loved. It hurts so much and I didn't even know that kid. This happens to me all the time and I hate having so much empathy towards people. I cried for hours and hours when I think of the people suffering like this. Well, that's an over-exaggeration I don't cry for hours but I cry a lot. I can't get the images out of my head

 

The face of pain and the face of suffering. The boy crying out. That boy probably cried out to his mother and she was not there. Imagine being that mother and knowing or thinking that your son is crying out for you while he is suffering and you were not there. Well, in my case of course, imagine being a father who was not there for his son.

 

I hate having so much empathy towards people, it is a curse

 

And sometimes it is very hard to talk to other Christians about these things, because then they go off on you and say well you are just as evil as they are. I know that scripture says that if we break one commandment we break them all. But that doesn't mean that I cannot be upset about this. That doesn't mean that I can't feel for that little kid. It doesn't mean that I can't pray for justice for that kid. And it also doesn't mean that I can't hurt for the family. It wasn't just that kid that suffered, it was his parents I'm sure.

 

But Justice was served. Those men got the death penalty. But I am still saddened and hurt by this.

 

How do I have less empathy towards people? How can I not let it destroy me?

[Justin Adams]

Perhaps read the GOOD NEWS, gospel more and stay away from the bad news - world stuff.

[listener24]

1 hour ago, worthlessness1979 said:

It hurts so much to think of what that boy went through. I keep to imagining that I am that little boy getting beaten like that. I also Imagine that I was that boy's parents. I don't think I could survive knowing that somebody cause so much pain to someone that I loved. It hurts so much and I didn't even know that kid. This happens to me all the time and I hate having so much empathy towards people. I cried for hours and hours when I think of the people suffering like this. Well, that's an over-exaggeration I don't cry for hours but I cry a lot. I can't get the images out of my head

 

The face of pain and the face of suffering. The boy crying out. That boy probably cried out to his mother and she was not there. Imagine being that mother and knowing or thinking that your son is crying out for you while he is suffering and you were not there. Well, in my case of course, imagine being a father who was not there for his son.

Dear brother, your empathy is not to blame, but to appreciate. We all need to keep our own empathy strong. Even if it costs suffering.

There are things going on in this world that are sad beyond any imagination.

And there have always been, sadly. It's easy to close our eyes. We, as Christians, often forget that we are here because of the original sin.

We forget this, and then we say that everything that happens under this sun is decided by God, or some other similar sentences. We forget this because we think we can preach the good novel from our couches, grabbing another beer and forgetting about all the evil going on in the world.

Therefore, we CAN'T understand the good novel of the Kingdom.

We CAN'T understand Jesus prayer "thy Kingdom come", or the cry of the Spirit "Maranatha".

The one who have empathy about things going on like the one you described, he would understand some Word of Jesus:

"Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."

"But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."

How can His Kingdom be of this world if we are here because of the original sin?

1 hour ago, worthlessness1979 said:

But Justice was served. Those men got the death penalty.

Unfortunately, death penalty won't fix that sufferings of the victims. 

Human authorities needs to put people in jails, so that they won't hurt other people anymore (and we shouldn't rejoice in the penalties, because the penalty won't fix sufferings of the victims. Rejoicing in "vengeance" is a cavemen concept that Jesus wiped out.) But we should just see prison for what it is: a way to prevent other evil to be done.

Meanwhile, as Christians, Jesus taught us to pray for another form of justice: the coming of His Kingdom.

 

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

What you can desire and ask for, as a Christian, is the coming of the Kingdom. That will wipe out all the tears, and nothing as bad as what you have described will happen anymore, because all the results of the original sin in this world will be wiped out, and satan will be cast off.

"Deliver us from evil".

Are we praying for this as Christians, while meanwhile spreading the Gospel? If not, then we should stop to remain shocked by the evil that happens, because we are missing the opportunity Jesus gave us to speed up the end of evil. (2Peter 3:12, Luke 18:1-8, Lord's prayer, Last prayer in the Bible)

Edited December 22, 2017 by listener24

[TheMatrixHasU71]

1 hour ago, worthlessness1979 said:

As I was browsing the internet, I came across the story of a 13 year old boy who was severely beaten and tortured because he was accused of stealing a bike, which turned out to not be true. He was beaten by four men, while another man video taped it and placed it on social media. This was in Bangladesh. There was a video of him getting beaten and tortured. I did not watch the video and I won't watch the video. But I could see his face, and he was in so much pain.

 

This just breaks my heart. I know it is very girly for a grown man to say that this breaks my heart. But I don't care. It does. I cannot get the images out of my head.

 

It hurts so much to think of what that boy went through. I keep to imagining that I am that little boy getting beaten like that. I also Imagine that I was that boy's parents. I don't think I could survive knowing that somebody cause so much pain to someone that I loved. It hurts so much and I didn't even know that kid. This happens to me all the time and I hate having so much empathy towards people. I cried for hours and hours when I think of the people suffering like this. Well, that's an over-exaggeration I don't cry for hours but I cry a lot. I can't get the images out of my head

 

The face of pain and the face of suffering. The boy crying out. That boy probably cried out to his mother and she was not there. Imagine being that mother and knowing or thinking that your son is crying out for you while he is suffering and you were not there. Well, in my case of course, imagine being a father who was not there for his son.

 

I hate having so much empathy towards people, it is a curse

 

And sometimes it is very hard to talk to other Christians about these things, because then they go off on you and say well you are just as evil as they are. I know that scripture says that if we break one commandment we break them all. But that doesn't mean that I cannot be upset about this. That doesn't mean that I can't feel for that little kid. It doesn't mean that I can't pray for justice for that kid. And it also doesn't mean that I can't hurt for the family. It wasn't just that kid that suffered, it was his parents I'm sure.

 

But Justice was served. Those men got the death penalty. But I am still saddened and hurt by this.

 

How do I have less empathy towards people? How can I not let it destroy me?

If you had less empathy towards people then you would be less likely to care for their souls. Even those that killed the boy deserve empathy because you know where they are going to end up if they do not repent and turn to Christ. I would hardly call it a curse.

[BK1110]

I know where you're coming from. I've always felt I was too emotional and too easily get choked up and teary eyed for a man. It's definitely a source of shame. But ask yourself if you would rather be cold and not feel other's pain? Not be able to understand them and care about them? I think that would be worse.

[PrincessPeachy]

2 hours ago, worthlessness1979 said:

As I was browsing the internet, I came across the story of a 13 year old boy who was severely beaten and tortured because he was accused of stealing a bike, which turned out to not be true. He was beaten by four men, while another man video taped it and placed it on social media. This was in Bangladesh. There was a video of him getting beaten and tortured. I did not watch the video and I won't watch the video. But I could see his face, and he was in so much pain.

 

This just breaks my heart. I know it is very girly for a grown man to say that this breaks my heart. But I don't care. It does. I cannot get the images out of my head.

 

It hurts so much to think of what that boy went through. I keep to imagining that I am that little boy getting beaten like that. I also Imagine that I was that boy's parents. I don't think I could survive knowing that somebody cause so much pain to someone that I loved. It hurts so much and I didn't even know that kid. This happens to me all the time and I hate having so much empathy towards people. I cried for hours and hours when I think of the people suffering like this. Well, that's an over-exaggeration I don't cry for hours but I cry a lot. I can't get the images out of my head

 

The face of pain and the face of suffering. The boy crying out. That boy probably cried out to his mother and she was not there. Imagine being that mother and knowing or thinking that your son is crying out for you while he is suffering and you were not there. Well, in my case of course, imagine being a father who was not there for his son.

 

I hate having so much empathy towards people, it is a curse

 

And sometimes it is very hard to talk to other Christians about these things, because then they go off on you and say well you are just as evil as they are. I know that scripture says that if we break one commandment we break them all. But that doesn't mean that I cannot be upset about this. That doesn't mean that I can't feel for that little kid. It doesn't mean that I can't pray for justice for that kid. And it also doesn't mean that I can't hurt for the family. It wasn't just that kid that suffered, it was his parents I'm sure.

 

But Justice was served. Those men got the death penalty. But I am still saddened and hurt by this.

 

How do I have less empathy towards people? How can I not let it destroy me?

To be honest, I don’t think your empathy is destroying you. We need to have empathy and compassion for people, so why do you want to harden your heart? 

[4LdKHVCzRDj2]

3 hours ago, worthlessness1979 said:

This just breaks my heart. I know it is very girly for a grown man to say that this breaks my heart. But I don't care.

This is what this evil world thinks, anyone (especially males) who shows empathy for others are labeled as gay or they think you are female.

Yes, this world is completely upside down.

"And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." - Matthew 24:12

[missmuffet]

 When I go to the news sites I only see the headlines. That is bad enough. So much of the news wants to please our world and put on the most horrible events that is going on. The more gruesome the photos the better. I do not have a morbid curiosity so I stay away from going any further into those news stories. If I see a lighthearted positive news story worth reading I will go into it otherwise I stay away from the horrible things that are happening in our world and pray for what is going on.

[worthlessness1979]

9 hours ago, listener24 said:

Dear brother, your empathy is not to blame, but to appreciate. We all need to keep our own empathy strong. Even if it costs suffering.

There are things going on in this world that are sad beyond any imagination.

And there have always been, sadly. It's easy to close our eyes. We, as Christians, often forget that we are here because of the original sin.

We forget this, and then we say that everything that happens under this sun is decided by God, or some other similar sentences. We forget this because we think we can preach the good novel from our couches, grabbing another beer and forgetting about all the evil going on in the world.

Therefore, we CAN'T understand the good novel of the Kingdom.

We CAN'T understand Jesus prayer "thy Kingdom come", or the cry of the Spirit "Maranatha".

The one who have empathy about things going on like the one you described, he would understand some Word of Jesus:

"Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."

"But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."

How can His Kingdom be of this world if we are here because of the original sin?

Unfortunately, death penalty won't fix that sufferings of the victims. 

Human authorities needs to put people in jails, so that they won't hurt other people anymore (and we shouldn't rejoice in the penalties, because the penalty won't fix sufferings of the victims. Rejoicing in "vengeance" is a cavemen concept that Jesus wiped out.) But we should just see prison for what it is: a way to prevent other evil to be done.

Meanwhile, as Christians, Jesus taught us to pray for another form of justice: the coming of His Kingdom.

 

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

What you can desire and ask for, as a Christian, is the coming of the Kingdom. That will wipe out all the tears, and nothing as bad as what you have described will happen anymore, because all the results of the original sin in this world will be wiped out, and satan will be cast off.

"Deliver us from evil".

Are we praying for this as Christians, while meanwhile spreading the Gospel? If not, then we should stop to remain shocked by the evil that happens, because we are missing the opportunity Jesus gave us to speed up the end of evil. (2Peter 3:12, Luke 18:1-8, Lord's prayer, Last prayer in the Bible)

Yeah, I know I should never rejoice when anyone dies. Thank you for the reminder.

[worthlessness1979]

Thank you, everyone.