2 Timothy 1:4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears…
Everyone has them… the tears of life, and for many different reasons.
Some people’s tears are bigger and more obvious than others. Some fall harder and faster. While some are hidden and obscure. But we all have them.
In the above verse, Paul was writing to Timothy from the least likely place you’d think of to receive encouragement – prison.
As we know, Paul’s pain was real, even great (2 Cor. 11:23-30). Paul had suffered things humanly unimaginable, and his pain was no doubt greater than any pain that Timothy might have been experiencing at the time.
However, that didn’t seem to lesson Timothy’s tears in Paul’s eyes. Paul offered Timothy his love and prayers, and then was careful to make mention of how he was “mindful of his tears.”
What a powerful example to be mindful of someone else’s tears, without even making mention of your own. Wow. Paul could have easily been focused on his own tears, licking his own wounds, but instead he faithfully concerned himself with ministering to the tears of others.
NO ONE IS EXEMPT…
Every day we are surrounded by the tears of others, whether seen or unseen. Hurting people are everywhere – on the sidewalk, at the checkout counter, in the pew across the aisle, in the house next door, and even within the walls of your own home.
No one is exempt from the tears of life, including us, whether it be the loss of a loved one, a wayward child, a painful past, or circumstances that are simply beyond our control.
Yet, how often do we find ourselves in a conversation with someone who’s sharing a tear or a burden they’re facing, and it almost seems as if we can’t wait to interject and tell them all the details about our own tears and struggles?
We’re all guilty at times. Sometimes in our effort to relate, we minimize the tears of others by shifting the focus on our own. Now I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t “bear one another’s burdens”, because we should (Gal. 6:2). In fact, God gave us our pain for His purpose, part of which is to use our tears to help others.
However, there is something uniquely different about allowing yours to be the shoulder for someone else’s tears to fall on without expecting them to quickly do the same.
BE SOMEONE ELSE’S ‘PAUL’…
We’ve all seen the popular quotes that go like this, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” This is so very true.
And every once in a while, someone may display courageous vulnerability and open their heart to allow you to get a glimpse of their battle.
When they do, make the most of the moment. Be their ‘Paul’.
Be mindful of their tears.
Pain is real. Pain is universal. And no matter the depth of your own pain…
Don’t ever lesson another person’s pain simply because yours may be greater.
Paul was a stellar example of this. We are not called to “one-up” one another. However, we are called to weep with those who weep, comfort those afflicted, and pray for those facing fiery trials.
We are called to be mindful of others tears.
Who’s your ‘Paul’ that has been mindful of your tears? Why not reach out to them with thanks today?
Who’s Paul could you be? Whose tears could you be mindful of today?
