Strange Attraction

A few years back I read "Confessions of St. Augustine." If you are into philosophy or are highly introspective I strongly recommend picking it up. There is one part in there (and its been so long now I can't remember where) that he questions why people are drawn to the suffering of others. He was motivated to ask the question because he noticed people going to see dramatic plays and becoming overly emotional because of it. He would have a much easier time locating examples in the present day. Most TV shows have characters that are struggling with something. Society loves to watch these fictional, and sometimes real people, suffer through their trials and tribulations. This is also why the news is always about people who got shot, or who lost their jobs, or who lost family members. The news is a business like any other and they are going to present what sells, and nothing sells better than the tragic story that catches everyones attention.

This is not all bad. There is some part of pain that moves people to compassion. We are designed to suffer with one another. It draws us closer to one another. I'm not pretending to be an expert on the subject, but I do know that God has his plans, and suffering is among them. Jesus did not come to rid our lives of suffering. If you believe he did, you don't understand the cross. You also don't know your bible; he was not shy about the subject. Read Matthew 10:37-39, just one example.

But some of that attraction is more pride than compassion. Some people try to "help" solely because they want to be a part of the story. To insert oneself into a situation for the "glory" of being the one to fix it does nothing but cause more pain. I call this the savior complex.

The definition of compassion is "to suffer with", not "to fix." If you want to be my friend, suffer with me. Please don't try and fix my problems when you don't know the first thing about me. When you do that, even if you are well intentioned, you cause me more pain. Jesus did not need someone to take his cross away from him, but he did need someone to help him carry it.