Why Do I Give A Rat's Ass?

I was standing in the shower as ideas for this blog were flooding my already tired brain and as always the title came last. There are several different ways that I could have posed my title (which also serves as the opening statement), but all of the ones prior to the one I chose were fluffy and soft...I wanted something more random and funny! As always I (in my own way) asked God what He thought and in His own way He said, "Really?! That's what you're going to go with?" 
I chuckled (and yes all of this took place while I was in the shower) and said, "Yes!" Then I started to debate with myself as to whether or not God ever says the words that we have deemed of the cursing variety, but I will spare you the details of that. 
Back to the subject at hand, why do I give a rat's ass? This is a question that I have asked myself many times over the course of the last decade or so of my life. I watch people, they do things seemingly with no regard to others and it doesn't seem to effect them at all. Sometimes I find myself feeling jealous, wondering why I have to care when I feel like no one else does (and I say 'have to' because sometimes that is honestly how I feel). I have yet to come accustomed to the fact that I seem entirely content with caring for others more than they care for me. It often results in me getting hurt or disappointed but for whatever reason I am perfectly okay with someone loving me one day and that same someone wanting to clobber for no reason the very next. I honestly CANNOT help it! (And I know that because I have tried to stop!) Caring only seems to get me into hot water with people, or makes me cry, or toss and turn at night; it's truly exhausting. I have fought to stop, I have fought to pretend, I have even cut people out of my life...something to do with that whole 'out of sight out of mind' thing, only to later go back to them and apologize for walking away when they needed me. (Now you all may be thinking that my insufferable need to care about people is an admirable quality and I should stop griping about it, and I would agree with that statement, but there is a point to all of this moaning.)
I am one of those types that needs to know why I do the things I do, why I refuse to do other things, and why others still remain out of my control to help or hinder. As of today I think that I can finally stop asking the question 'Why do I give a rats ass'?
I have been reading the book Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus, and in it he addresses matters of, well...the soul. Our souls desire things that are difficult for our minds to understand and near impossible to put into words. I am halfway through the book and he writes, "Why can't we just leave well enough alone? Why should we care about someone when there's no benefit to us? Why should suffering or tragedy or poverty or injustice move us in any way? It's simple really--because we're human, and humans are created in the image of God." Now, that is by no means a profound statement, he is not the first to say it nor will he be the last. But there is something about the way he connected the two together that made it all make sense for me. In four simple sentences Mr. McManus addresses my entire struggle. The selfishness that I deal with in the moments that I don't want to or wish I didn't, the simple fact that I cannot, under any circumstances, help it; and the very reason for why that is. 
MY SOUL CANNOT HELP BUT CARE BECAUSE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED TO DO AND WHO IT WAS CREATED TO BE LIKE. 
I am always going to care! I might as well get used to it!