COMPASSION
I have been
thinking about compassion and I wondered "Do we really understand
compassion?" The apostle James
said in Jam. 2:15:
(15) If a brother
or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, (16) And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and
filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the
body; what doth it profit?
Often Christians
find themselves in a situation where they respond by saying, “I’ll be praying
for you?” My how Christian that sounds!
What empathy! What
compassion! But is it really Christian
or empathy or compassion?
In an imaginary
situation, a Christian named Thomas was obviously depressed, and everyone in
the office knew it. “What’s the matter”
asked Christian #1?
Thomas replied
sadly, “The boss gave me a pink slip.
In two weeks I will have no job and my family will have no income. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Christian #1 said,
“Well Tom, I’m sorry to hear this and I’ll be praying for you.”
Now here’s a little
quiz about that imaginary situation.
A. Is Christian #1 showing compassion for
Tom’s situation?
B. Is Christian #1 saying, “All you need is
my prayers?”
Is Christian #1
saying , “I really don’t have much time to give you?”
Who can say exactly
what Christian #1 is saying?
Christian #2
overheard the conversation and said to Thomas,
“I’m sorry too and of course you’ll have my prayers as well. But, let’s talk about this privately. I may have an idea that can help you through
this thing.”
Let us ask similar
questions about Christian #2.
A. Is Christian #2 showing compassion for
Tom’s situation?
B. Is Christian #2 saying, “You will have my
prayers and me as well?”
C. Is Christian #2 saying, “I’m available to
meet with you and help you?”
Is Christian #2
easier to understand than Christian #1?
Should we have
compassion for everyone on planet earth?
Yes, we should have love and sympathy
for everyone, but COMPASSION entails personal involvement and this is
not possible with everyone.
Paul said in Gal.
6:10:
As we have
therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who
are of the household of faith.
With this thought in mind let us paraphrase
what James said:
Suppose a brother
or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, with my best wishes, keep warm and be fed,” and does nothing
about his real physical needs, what good is it?
One author said
"compassion is mercy in action."
Webster says compassion is sympathy accompanied by a desire to
help. It seems clear that compassion
entails more than words alone, it involves YOU personally.
Watch And Pray
Cha / 3/5/2000