The honesty of compassion is to come close to the one who suffers. This is difficult for lots of reasons, the first would have to be that coming close to suffering people often exposes us to potential suffering as well, and the second is like is like it: what are we going to do about it? Our response to suffering may cause us to suffer, perhaps because we will feel compelled to give, or to help, or to be inconvenienced.
Suffering is also hard to understand because to really sympathize with someone suffering, we need to know ourselves what suffering feels like. I think this is why we don't want our priests, doctors and teachers to be too perfect. We want to know that they know what suffering is like from first-hand experience.
I think being unequally yoked has taught me a lot about compassion. I have a better understanding of weakness, of suffering, of tears and of pain. I know that the hurt can be even deeper for knowing that it is self-inflicted, which is the more shameful wound anyway. Embracing the knowledge of my own sin, weakness, brokenness and coming down from my moral high horse was a painful process, but well worth it! Lord, continue to teach me, even through such painful lesson as these, that I may break the back of my judgementalism and self-righteousness and claim your mercy and holiness.
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