Becoming a Caring Community

Since my last post was about basketball, I thought I'd post something else that involves the round ball. A friend showed me the video on ESPN's website about Jason McElwain, the autistic boy who scored 20 points in the last 4 minutes of the only basketball game he played in his entire high school career.

What so moves me about the video is not that he scored such a high amount of points in his only game in 4 years, but it is the reaction of the student body and basketball team. Jason has autism, which means he is different than the average high school student - and yet that doesn't matter to these kids. Jason is part of their team, part of their high school, and so they are thrilled when he gets a moment to shine. There is no jealousy that he was the game's high scorer, there was only celebration.

Do you celebrate with others when great things happen to them? Are you empathetic with the situations other people are facing? Do you "rejoice with those who rejoice" (Romans 12:15)? Or are you jealous when great things happen to your friends? Are you a caring community member or a self-absorbed member?