Let your gentleness be evident to all.
—Philippians 4:5
Burton Coffman’s cancer was detected early, treated successfully, and he was declared cancer-free.
Years later—nearing his 100th birthday, and not feeling well—Burton underwent a battery of tests, then asked his doctor, “Is the cancer back?” “Yes,” he said, “but I wouldn’t worry about it.” Burton retorted, “I wouldn’t worry about it either if you were the one with cancer.”
The good doctor’s intention was to inform Burton that at his age something else would take him before cancer did. He aimed at his brain but missed his heart.
Off-the-cuff comments often miss the heart and hurt, the fear and foreboding.
People with real problems—and every person’s problems are real to them—don’t want pre-packaged, one-size-fits-all, solutions. They want to know that you understand—and care.
People don’t care how much you know
until they know how much you care.