There is a new trend on social media that invites people to engage in conversation with someone about their truths- it is called “Listen and Don’t Judge.” The objective is for one person to state their truth while the other person listens without judgment. In other words, with compassion, mercy, and tolerance, they agree to listen to what is being said. Watching the vignettes, you can see and almost feel how difficult the goal of this activity is. Especially when it is something unexpected or something that is directly about you. 

We find a biblical account of “Listen, Don’t Judge” in Lamentations 3 as Jeremiah laments to God about his feelings concerning some hard truths that have happened in his life. Line after line, Jeremiah lists each concern- all specifically about God. It seems difficult to be the listener in this activity. Here, God models mercy as Jeremiah speaks. God does not interrupt or interject. Interestingly enough, this results in Jeremiah declaring that God’s compassion does not fail because His love is so great. As believers, loving with compassion will help us make space for the best and worst moments as either speakers or listeners. Though challenging, in this season and societal climate- God’s model of compassionate love will have exponential benefits as true believers work to extend it to ourselves and others.