Christian Living

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Those in Need
By Dan Blankenship
© 2007 Dan Blankenship



John the Apostle reminds followers of the Christian faith that “if anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him.” (1 John 3:17 NIV).

John goes on to tell us: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18NIV).

What goes through the human mind when it sees others in need of assistance, be it lack of funds, lack of housing, or lack of transportation? Does the brain send out signals of sympathy automatically? Neuroscientists know that sympathy stimulates brain function (1), but the actual trigger that makes one feel sympathetic in the first place is still a bit of a mystery.

I believe John was not only calling for sympathy or pity to be a part of the Christian character; he was stressing the importance of physical and financial commitment to helping the needy in this world. Not much has changed since A.D. 85 and 2007, anno Domini (Latin for ‘Year of our Lord’). God wants his believers to be Action-Christians, ready to drive someone without a car to his doctor’s appointment; ready to help pay the rent for a needy family; and ready to sacrifice part of the grocery money to add food to the church pantry.

The personal relationship one person can build with another when an act of genuine kindness is performed is the kind of relationship that mimics God’s own bond with his creation. God sent his son to deliver mankind from eminent death. He had pity (a better word might be mercy) on the world that had so willingly walked away from him. So, we, as Christians, must not toss our sympathy aside and sometimes blame the downtrodden for their own troubles.

Yes, that homeless man’s excessive drinking may have led to his despair, but he is still a man in need of nourishment. Yes, your neighbor should have bought a lawn mower with the money he spent on fireworks last fourth, but imagine his appreciation if you spent just one hour of your life helping him out a little. Passing God’s blessings on to the less fortunate can be overwhelmingly rewarding to one’s spiritual happiness.

John’s passionate words calling followers of Christ to have more acted upon sympathy toward our fellow man should be a lesson that we burn into our brains neurotransmitters, so that one day, if a neuroscientist ever ask you if you know where the feeling of sympathy comes from, you can answer, “I sure do!”




(1) France's Institut de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, the Talaris Research Institute and the Apex Foundation 2-Dec-2002 http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-12/uow-shf120202.php

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