Compassion
I. Introduction
A. A child dying of starvation
B. A woman who has lost her family to war
C. A family who lost everything in a natural disaster
D. When you hear of these things, or see pictures of them, what
do you feel inside?
E. Hopefully, we feel sorrow for the tragedy…but also something
more
1. Our heart, in a sense, has a desire to "reach out" to
them
2. Such can be called compassion!
F. Compassion an important part of the Christian life
G. Let us consider the Scriptures regarding compassion
II. What is Compassion?
A. What is compassion?
1. Sometimes a difficult thing, since there are many words
involved
2. Many times, nuances sought from meanings that aren't
always there
B. Compassion
1. From Latin cum and passion, "suffering with" or
"feeling with"
2. Greek equivalent: sumpathos -- "sympathy"
3. Compassion: A suffering with another; painful sympathy;
a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes
of another; pity; commiseration. Compassion is a mixed
passion, compounded of love and sorrow; at least some
portion of love generally attends the pain or regret, or
is excited by it. Extreme distress of an enemy even changes
enmity into at least temporary affection (Webster's)
4. Sympathy: Fellow feeling; the quality of being affected by
the affection of another, with feelings by the affection of
another, with feelings correspondent in kind, if not in
degree. We feel sympathy for another when we see him in
distress, or when we are informed of his distresses. This
sympathy is a correspondent feeling of pain or regret; An
agreement of affections or inclinations, or a conformity of
natural temperament, which makes two persons pleased with
each other (Webster's)
C. Other terms considered
1. Empathy: Identification with and understanding of another's
situation, feelings, and motives; the attribution of one's
own feelings to an object (American Heritage)
2. Pity: The feeling or suffering of one person, excited by
the distresses of another; sympathy with the grief or misery
of another; compassion or fellow-suffering (Webster's)
D. Distinctions?
1. Sympathy is generally used in situations where the
sympathizer has gone through the same experience as the
sympathized
2. Empathy tends to refer to the mental recognition of the
suffering-- "I can understand how you feel that way"-- does
not assume shared experience
3. Pity, although similar in meaning to the rest, comes with
negative connotations-- the one pitied feels more
humiliated, say, than one with whom is sympathized or
empathized
E. Compassion is an easy way to package all of these concepts
together
1. In compassion, we have an internal feeling regarding another
2. That feeling may be based purely on a mental recognition of
their difficulty
3. That feeling may be based on shared experiences of suffering
4. They compel us to reach out to said person in their time of
need
F. An attribute expected from the Christian (Colossians 3:12)!
III. Jesus, Model of Compassion
A. We also have in Jesus a model of compassion
B. We are to heed His example (1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 John 2:6)!
C. He often had compassion on the crowds
1. Matthew 9:36/Mark 6:34: they were harassed and helpless,
without shepherd
2. Matthew 14:14
3. Matthew 15:32/Mark 8:2: they were hungry!
D. Luke 7:13: compassion for a widow who lost her son
E. Also in parables
1. Luke 10:33: characteristic of the Good Samaritan
2. Luke 15:20: feeling of the father toward the prodigal son
F. James 5:11: compassion characteristic of the Lord!
G. The Greek word used here for compassion is quite interesting
1. splagchnizomai
2. Literally, "movement in one's bowels or entrails"
3. The word represents the visceral action behind the feeling
of compassion!
4. Have you ever seen someone in a difficult state or position
and literally felt it within you? That's compassion!
H. Such is what Jesus had for people and for us, and what we
should feel for others!
IV. Why Compassion?
A. Why is it that we are to be compassionate people?
B. The need for compassion speaks to both aspects of its
definition
1. The ability to share in suffering
2. The willingness to mentally identify with the suffering
of others
C. We are to share in other's sufferings for many reasons!
1. We also have suffered, and hopefully appreciated the
compassion of others
2. We are reminded that we too are sinful, undeserving of what
we have been given (Titus 3:3-8)
3. We also should be reminded that only by the grace of God we
are not in the same position!
4. Compassion comes naturally if we love our fellow man as we
ought and desire to engage in kindness and mercy toward
him (cf. Luke 10:27-37)
5. When we have opportunity to sympathize with people, having
shared experiences of suffering, we represent the light
that God desires us to be (Matthew 5:13-16)
D. There is also great need to mentally identify with others
1. Empathy is too often a lost art
2. Far too often, we are so preoccupied with ourselves and our
own perspective that we fail to accurately and fully
consider the perspective of others
3. Can we identify with others? Are we willing to put
ourselves in their shoes and consider their perspectives?
4. Such does not force us to agree with that perspective, or
to change our own per se, but at least we should consider
how others feel!
5. Hearkens back to Matthew 7:1-5
6. How can we judge or condemn others if we don't understand
who they are or what has led them to be where they are?
7. How can we lead them to Christ if we refuse to consider
the way they see things?
8. Empathy, therefore, is quite important for us if we are
going to relate to our fellow man!
E. In order to love our fellow man, we must find ways of being
compassionate toward them!
1. We were all sinners (Titus 3:3-8), and all still sin
(Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8)
2. We have all received love, kindness, and mercy from God
(John 3:16, Luke 6:36, Romans 2:4)
3. Let us show this to others!
V. Conclusion
A. We have considered compassion today
B. Do we have that acute feeling of compassion within our
entrails?
C. Do we look out at our fellow man and see them harassed with
sin and helpless against it, and feel a need to do something
about it?
D. Are we willing to identify with others in their difficulties,
or do we just stand back and condemn?
E. Let us follow after the example of Jesus, and have
compassionate hearts toward all!
F. Invitation/songbook