Friday: The Consequence of Misplaced Empathy
- McKayla Norman
- Dec 26, 2025
- 2 min read
Scripture from 1 Kings:
1 Kings 20:42-43 (ESV): "And he said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.”’"
Galatians 6:7-8 (ESV)
"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life."
Ahab made a stupid mistake because he mostly lived his life for selfish and earthly gain. This caused him to lose perspective and to miss what God was clearly doing all around him. It’s easy for us to sit back and judge Ahab, but do we ever catch ourselves doing the same thing? In some way….do we ever make decisions based on our selfishness rather than based on our love for God and for people? Because Ahab was not honoroing God with his life, even his NOBLE efforts were misguided. And this true story is a perfect example.
Ahab's misguided empathy for Ben-Hadad leads to serious consequences. Galatians 6 emphasizes the principle of sowing and reaping, urging us to focus on sowing to the Spirit for true life.
Through Jesus, we learn to offer genuine empathy while upholding truth. His life shows us how to balance compassion with righteousness, avoiding pitfalls of misplaced empathy.
Action Step:
Consider relationships where your empathy might be misplaced. Seek God's guidance to ensure your compassion aligns with His truth.
Prayer:
Gracious God, help me to be wise in Your ways. Help me to show empathy and compassion in the moments that are ordained by Your will. But help me NOT to hold empathy to situations and people that are clearly destructive and manipulative. Help me to walk in Your path of righteousness and not my own made up righteousness.
Song of the Day:
"God of All My Days” by Casting Crowns
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