BEYOND – Empathy in a Culture of Hurry

The more hurried you are the less compassionate you’ll be. – John Mark

Slow down. We need to slow. down.

COP
SSH + Quick yoga flow + tappy taps + Merkins

Hold High Plank:

In today’s culture, we spend too much time focusing on self. It makes sense. In western culture, the individualized self is the highest goal in our society. We spend so much time focusing on what we desire. We follow those who have the same ideologies. In short, we hate each other and we want more of ourselves. We believe that we are God and only want to be surrounded by others created in our image. What does that say about us as a society?

Aiken Arms
10 Merkins
10 Plank Jacks
10 CDD’s
10 Donkey Kicks

Ass Webbs
Squats + Al Gore Pulses 1:4 – 10:40

Hold High Plank:

We only like things we want to like and curate things we want to see-further creating and hardening our ability to never have to see things we don’t want to see or disagree with. It’s not only desensitizing, it’s dehumanizing. Politics, sports teams, religion, name it. We are able to find what we desire to find and shut out anything we don’t want to hear/see. If we don’t like the news we see we can seek out and find the “news” we want. Using the mediums we currently use (social media specifically), when we see an opposing view that doesn’t align with ours, we aren’t obligated to disagree in a thoughtful and relationship keeping way. Instead the relationship doesn’t matter therefore the disagreement can be toxic, mean, and harsh. Trying to understand each other should be normal, unfortunately it has become a superpower in today’s culture.

Bear Crawl Circuit
Bear Crawl across parking lot
Low Plank in wait for six + 30 seconds
Bear Crawl back across lot
Low Plank in wait for the six + 30 seconds
Repeat w/Al Gores

Hold Al Gore:

You know what really is the driver behind all of this? Fear. A professor at Chapman University started a “Survey of American Fears” in 2014. You know what has been seen as a trend since the beginning of it all? People are beginning to fear what they see in the media. The top 10 fears from 2019 can be directly correlated to the top media stories of the past year. Basically the stories we see are whipping us up into a frenzy and fanning the flames of fear. How big will the fire get before it consumes us all? It really comes down to one question: What do we fear?

Punch Webbs 1:4 – 10:40
Dive bomber Pushups
Plank Jacks

A few Moseys in between rounds due to the difficulty of the Webb.

Hold High Plank:

I asked the question of what do we fear? We fear the other. Whatever the other is for you. white. black. republican. democrat. sunni. shiite. jew. german. christian. atheist. We have to dive head first into that dark and muddy part of our heart. Not put it away. Not shy away from it. Not run from it. What’s down in those depths? If we consider how Jesus actually walked and look at his ethos as he went about his life, we find someone who was afraid of no one and no thing. And this prevented knee jerk reactions. Prevented him from picking up a sword and taking down Rome. And if He wanted to do that, nothing could have stopped him. This made it possible for empathy to radiate from his very being. Because there was actually room for it as opposed to being filled with fear.
He chose to die willingly for others – namely his enemies. If you’re a follower of Jesus, ask yourself: Why are you afraid?

Aiken Legs
20 Squats
20 Box Jumps
20 Bonnie Blair’s (Jump Lunges)
20 Bomb Jacks

Hold High Plank:

What would it look like if we laid down our fears, our weapons, our hate, and picked up enemy love instead? This empathy is not easy. It is a hard won, practiced enemy love.

The difference between fear and enemy love is a difference of franticness and peace.
Fear is frantic.
Fear goes at a speed love does not.
Fear is fast. Fear is frantic. Fear is distracted.
But love?
Goes about three miles per hour.
Three miles per hour it the average pace of someone who is walking purposefully yet gracefully.
Most of Jesus’ miracles happened on his way somewhere else.
We have to go at a pace that can be interrupted. That can be responsive to the moment in front of us.
If you walk at a pace that is in step with our Lord, don’t be surprised if empathy and enemy love show up.
You can’t love someone when you are hustling (for me – I think bedtime with small children).
But when you say no to the hustle? You can be stopped. You can step into the holy moment of grace.
Jesus did it.
He felt other people’s pain. He leaned into their space. He understood their hurt. He waited and didn’t hustle past.
He loved.

Mary
Seal sit ups x 30
Straight Leg American Hammers x 15
Straight Leg LBC’s x 11
World War I sit ups x 5

Announcements
Yeti – Doty – Manion

Prayers/Praises
Band Camp’s travels to DC this weekend with the band.
Chicken Wing is having hip surgery next week.
Prayers for all traveling this weekend and the frenzied fear that is the current virus situation.

Thanks Dirty Harry for the tap to lead the inaugural BEYOND of 2020. Looking forward to what this will become.

Punch List out.

TClap |
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