Soul Care - Compassion

by Mary Elsbury

We’ve all seen the commercials imploring you “for just $19 a month” to help some poor cat/dog in crisis or to save the whales. Some ads tug on your heart by using a sick child to make their pitch. The bottom line is to make you feel something – compassion. 

Compassion embodies a tangible expression of love for those who are suffering and then take action to help. According to Wikipedia, “Compassion is a social feeling that motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves.” 

In my professional life as a Social Worker, I often felt somewhat jaded. I heard stories of hardship and need, and how the “system” was unfair. It was difficult to empathize with those clients when they wanted a handout and weren’t interested in a life change. As a Christian, I knew that offering a word of encouragement, in that moment of crisis, could positively change the lives of those who feel unseen and vulnerable. After all, Jesus modeled compassion throughout His life, even to the point of dying for my sin. What better example could I have? 

Throughout the New Testament, and especially in the Gospels, we read about the mercy shown by Jesus to people in need or when someone called to Jesus asking for help. The Hebrew and Greek words translated “compassion” to mean “to have mercy, to feel sympathy and to have pity.” We know that God is “a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Psalm 86:15). Like all of God’s attributes, His compassion is infinite and eternal.  

So, the next time you see one of those ads asking for monetary help, think twice. 

Modeling compassion goes beyond empathy and involves taking action to relieve suffering. Compassion doesn’t make you a bleeding heart. It simply means that you have the capacity to show kindness, offer hope, validate feelings of worthlessness, provide support, and respect boundaries in a non-judgmental setting. Showing concern for one another never goes out of style.  

The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail. 
They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 

Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB