#-sometimes it's impossible to make connections like you're used to. You can know sth and not know sth at the same time

[hajihiko]

ok this is gonna sound really weird but were the ppl like,,,, conscious???? when they got taken over?? idk how to word it,, like,,,,,, did they know i guess??? srry if i missed smth lol

i left it ambiguous on purpose!

[strawberry-milktea]

Hi! Firstly, you're so brave that on tumblr dot hell of all places you stand up for what is right and dont lie to please people. I admire that, and even more so that you say this comes from a place of genuine concern. How? I dont care about the salvation of strangers, just mine and that of those I love. How do you manage to genuinely care? Also how do you love people despite their sin? If people do sth wrong (in my eyes at least) I cant do with them. I must justify the sin or reject the person.

Hello, thanks for your kind words!

How I see it is, people who are lost in sin - no matter what form that sin comes in - aren’t really that different from me. Before I accepted Christ into my heart, I was just as lost and hell-bound as they were. I guess you can say seeing my old self in that person is one of the things that makes it easier for me care for and love that person. It doesn’t matter if their sin comes in a different form than the sins I am weak to. Sin is sin, all equally destructive. Sin will lead to permanent death and destruction if not repented for in Jesus’ name - yet any form of sin can be washed away from a person and they can be made into a new creation if they give their life to Christ.

I think what also personally makes it a little easier for me is that empathizing with others is something that He has allowed to be a strong area for me. From when I was a little kid, I’ve always found it easy to connect with others’ feelings and relate to the struggles/hurts people go through. I think going through a long period of loneliness and hurts from kids during my school years was also something He used to strengthen this in me. The enemy used that time in my life to create wounds (which thank goodness with God’s help I have healed substantially from), but God used that time to make me more aware of how those who are left out feel and want to be the friend to others that I wished I had during that period. So once I was born again and understood the reality of the necessity of faith in Christ for salvation and how those who reject Him will not have eternal life, it wasn’t difficult for me to feel sorrow over the idea of those who are lost and don’t know Him.

From what you’re saying, it seems like you’re playing the role of a judge when faced with a person who is sinning. Would I be correct in understanding that you have a tendency to think certain types of sin that you don’t struggle with are worse than the sins you have weaknesses to? This type of mindset is something you need to distance yourself from and change. I think you can adapt a different perspective on this if you look at it from the angle that sin is sin and it’s all equally destructive. Before you accepted Christ, your sin had you on a path of destruction like any given person you may come across who chooses to embrace sin and reject Christ. When you think of it this way - how you have had your eyes opened to Christ but there are those who the enemy has deceived such that they cling to their sin, mistakenly believe it will fulfill them, and don’t understand that knowing Christ is what truly fulfills - it becomes much easier and natural to feel compassion. Loving that person and feeling compassion for them isn’t synonymous with excusing their sin, just as recognizing someone’s actions as sinful isn’t synonymous with hating that person.

Also I wanted to comment on that you mentioned you feel you must justify the sin. It’s important to realize sin is never justifiable. Sin in any form is a rebellion against God. The world tries to come up with its own system of defining sin where it deems certain things we know as Christians to be sin as not being sinful, recognizes certain sins as unacceptable actions, and recognizes other sins as sins but ones that can be justified under particular circumstances. We know as Christians that we don’t operate under the world’s definitions of sin, but instead, we live according to how He defined sin. And we know that all sin is offensive to Him and against His will. We should never come up with reasons to justify sin, and we don’t need to rationalize a person’s decision to sin to feel love and care for them. Referring again to what I mentioned above, just because we don’t approve of a sinful action, it doesn’t mean we can’t care for and love a person. In reality, when we point out something is a sin, it should be done from a heart attitude of honoring Him and caring for the wellbeing of the person who is in spiritual danger as a result embracing that sin.

We all have different strengths that come to us naturally. If empathy is something you aren’t naturally strong at, it certainly doesn’t mean it’s impossible for your approach in these types of situations to be changed into a more compassionate one. Even as someone who empathy comes to easily, I still get times when I struggle with this. For example, it’s not always easy for me to keep fleshly feelings from coming into play when someone is being actively cruel and hurtful toward me. It’s sometimes an exercise of patience and fighting fleshly feelings when I receive hostile messages on anon, like the ones you saw that prompted you to send this ask to me. But He helps in these situations - by helping you to maintain awareness that the real battle is not against other people (flesh and blood) but unseen spiritual evil, by helping you to keep control over fleshly emotions, and by increasing your empathy. As you keep relying on Christ and keep growing closer to Him, you will naturally become more and more like Him - and selfless love and compassion are definitely traits He has. If you ask for Him to soften your heart and let you heart hurt for what hurts His, He will help you with this.

I hope you found this helpful, let me know if you would like to continue this discussion!