Crying wolf

We all know the fable of the little boy who cried wolf, but what if the fable were real life? How would you handle it?

What if someone constantly cried out about how bad their life was and how sick they were? Would you take it to heart each time? What if their complaint seemed trivial compared to your own ailments or life? Would you still feel compassion for them?

It can truly be hard to give sympathy and have compassion for someone who constantly complains over things we find trivial and minor. We want to shake them and say, "Hey get a life!" or "Get off your duff and do something about it!" For some of us, that is easy to do. For others, its not so easy. We sit and listen. We offer words of encouragement and advise. Sometimes its accepted, sometimes it falls on deaf ears and other times its met with anger.

No, we don't always know how bad things are for a person, how bad they really hurt or just how sick they really may be. Only they and God know.

So for now, we listen - we encourage - we hold our tongues - we pray for those who cry wolf. Because as we have learned from the fable, one day it could be the real thing.