Pity is always a bad thing. It is a counterfeit. The real thing is compassion. We should not see anyone suffer or in misery without trying to help him. To shrug our shoulders, walk away, and say “What can I do?” is wrong. The first thing we can do is to give him the right thought, to see the Christ in him, to pray for him. And if there is some practical thing we can do, we should do it. That is compassion, one of the shortest cuts into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus taught compassion in his parables, and demonstrated it in his life. He said, “I have compassion on the multitude.”

That was a little better, but still not correct. God does not need to test us. He already knows everything. It is we who have to find out things, not God. Our temptations, our misfortunes, do test us, but God does not send them. When we make a mistake, or when a misfortune comes, it is a test of our faith in God. If we stick to our faith, and hold on in spite of appearances, we not only come through, but we make a tremendous spiritual advance.

That was a little better, but still not correct. God does not need to test us. He already knows everything. It is we who have to find out things, not God. Our temptations, our misfortunes, do test us, but God does not send them. When we make a mistake, or when a misfortune comes, it is a test of our faith in God. If we stick to our faith, and hold on in spite of appearances, we not only come through, but we make a tremendous spiritual advance.

From:  “Diagrams for Living”  by Emmett Fox. 

The above are three paragraphs from chapter 14, that I was guided to read and share.