No one can deny the fact that he/she has not experienced “love” or sympathy or empathy from someone since this world came into existence. The real question is, is it “love,” sympathy or empathy that you are receiving from the very person of yours? Now a day, many have misquoted “love” for sympathy and empathy for sympathy in relationships and many confidants, friends, family and peer via circles; partners do not really know what they are after in relationship. It is high time human beings should be able to distinguish between “love”, sympathy and empathy in a given relationship.
“Love”, sympathy and empathy develop and are being expressed above all in the family, in “love” between friends and parents, in “love” of couples, in the solidarity of family, which can be seen as the nucleus round which wider group feeling, develops. “Love” and empathy extend from the family group to wider social organizations and ultimately to the society as a whole, the people, the nation.
Biblical, “love” is “purposeful commitment to sacrificial action for another.” Powerful emotions accompany “love” and it is the commitment holds “love,” steadfast to unchanged. Emotions may change, but a commitment to “”love”” in a biblical manner endures and is the hallmark of a disciple of Christ. In Corinthians 13:4-6 “love” suffers long and is kind; “love” does not envy; “love” does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth”.
Empathy is the capacity to recognize emotions that are being experienced by another sentient or fictional being. With empathy, one must possess a certain amount of understanding before being able to experience accurate sympathy or compassion base on walking in another shoes, entering into another person’s frame of reference or having the ability to experience life as the other person does by entering the person’s world of thoughts, feelings, emotions and meanings. Even though, the word empathy does not appear in the Bible, but the Scriptures do refer indirectly to the characteristics of demonstrating empathy which is defined as “the capability to share another emotions and feelings” (1 Peter 3:8).
The accurate empathy person must experience another person’s private world as if it were his/her own, but remembering the “as if” part of it. It means being able to sense another person’s joy, fear, and confusion without your own feelings of joy, fear or confusion being wrapped up in the matter. Simply, it means being able to have a very clear insight into another person’s experience.
Sympathy on the other side is a feeling and concern for the well-being of another person. It is also the tendency to help others in order to prevent or alleviate their suffering. Sympathy and Empathy are not blood related so as “love”. Empathy is always good sympathy is contextually good but “love” dominates all. You can have one, without the other. Assuming, someone came in with a problem, you can have sympathy with only vague understanding of the other person’s feelings. You can also understand exactly how bad a person feels and still capable of not helping him/her.
You can be an accurate empathetic person and still have your freedom of sharing a specific emotional state with another person in a way you think is best, whether the sharing involve helping others or not. You can highly be empathetic and have options at the same time. However, when does “love” get confused for empathy? Well merely when one has only received attention, which they then presume as “love”, from other because they are in financial constraints, facing trials and temptations, being ill and admitted to the hospital or stressed out in some ways.
They only describe ‘”love”‘ to themselves only when they find themselves in circumstances, which are out of control and has been fearfulness on their shoulder. Unfortunately, this can set in motion a behavior pattern where the individual feels these is the only feasible way they can extract “love” from others. “Love” placed in quotation obviously signifies that what is being received is not “love” at all. It is the feelings of empathy and sympathy that the individual attempts to bring to mind in others.
By so doing, the person bringing into mind of others have accomplished an adopted prey like stance in relation to others. Approximately, by so doing the person appear helpless and believe their instinct to be such. In addition, the person bringing into mind of others try to create circumstance to make others think that he/she feel responsible for them in manipulate manner. They feel this is important because they have never experienced receiving “love” in any other way thus, deep down believe that they are to be love. It is also a big reason why many relationships fail. So how can one the “love” problem? Well one must recognize that the problem of sympathy for love and sympathy for empathy exist and must know its root. By knowing the root of the problem, you the stand at the position of knowing whom you are and what you want in life.
You cannot misquote love for sympathy and sympathy for love. If you want, a true relationship then you must understand the need of dealing and handling sympathy and empathy from your partner, confidants, friends, family, and peer via circles and go in for love.
