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J.R. Smith Dabbing Blood out of Kevin Love's Eye is the Physical Embodiment of Compassion

We could all learn a lot from J.R.'s christ-like behavior.

We are living in cold times. The weather is bad, the world seems fucked, even the holidays are being poisoned by the expectation of conflict with our loved ones. We wander in and out of our homes, buried under coats, listening to the rain and watching the snow, pacing vaguely toward a future we hope is there.

In this time of extraordinary darkness, I have thought about the acts and life of Jesus Christ, whose birth most of the Western world will nominally celebrate in a few weeks. Jesus lived a life of service and compassion for his fellow man, healing the sick, preaching forgiveness for all and compassion for the poor. You may recall that, in one of his final acts before death, he prostrated before his disciples and washed their feet. From the the Thirteenth Chapter of the Book of John (King James Translation, Obviously):

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Jesus spells it out: to truly walk in the example of Christ is to show extraordinary compassion and service to your fellow human. Were we all to follow this example, the world would be a much brighter place, the cold of winter exorcised from our bones. On Sunday afternoon, one man reintroduced me—all of us, really—to that spirit of service, taught us a little lesson in how to live in the light of compassion.

That man was J.R. Smith.

J.R. Smith for Teammate of the Year pic.twitter.com/IubI4FQXZq
— NBA.com (@NBAcom) November 27, 2016

After getting jacked up and drawing a foul in a collision with Philadelphia's Robert Covington, blood was pouring out from above Kevin Love's eye. He eventually got stitches, but before he could, he had to shoot his free throws, otherwise he wouldn't be able to come back in the game. So, Love, the Cavs medical staff, and J.R. Smith did their best to stop the bleeding.

JR could have delegated the task of cleaning his teammate's wound to anyone: trainers, rookies, the ref. He is an important man plying a high-pressure trade and the trifles of his medicine are not within his logical purview. But, like Jesus kneeling before his disciples on the night of his betrayal, he performed an act of compassion in the spirit of service. Verily, would that we all saw the bleeding eyes of our comrades, standing on the foul lines of their lives, and were compelled to offer them a hygienic wipe across the brow! Would that we all detached from our prescribed lives, the paths that cruel nature has beat out for us, and be more like J.R., living with hearts of service!

As we get deeper into the Winter, both of January and of complete sociopolitical collapse, remember what J.R. and J.C. have taught us. A compassionate heart that is fixed towards love and service for all people will make the world a better place, a warmer place, a more just place.