Compassion ¡V What It Is Not, What It Is, & What It Does
Various Scriptures
I. Introduction
Today we begin a series of messages focusing on a number of issues that are prevalent in our society. I hope in the next week or two to give you an outline of where we will be going so you can get an idea of what to expect.
My desire is to show how Scripture addresses these concerns, thereby illustrating that Scripture is relevant for today, just as it was when it was written.
I encourage you to pray about who you would like to invite to church over these next few weeks and months, as God allows.
Why this emphasis? People are under the misunderstanding that because the Bible is over 2000 years old, it has nothing to say to us today, other than general principles that are available in other religious writings.
My goal in all this is to point out that the Bible is unique in scope and in how it relates to the very issues we face today.
Our first session deals with compassion. We hear this word a lot, but I think very few people really understand what it means. This allows for it to be misused and manipulated.
My purpose today is to help us define the word and the concept, so that we will not only have a better understanding of its meaning, but also of it application in our lives.
We are going to discuss 3 things: What it is not, what it is, and what it does. We will look at a number of Scriptures today, and I trust the Holy Spirit will open our minds to what is on HIS mind as far as this issue of compassion goes.
II. Body
A. What Compassion is NOT.
In this beginning section, we will not be looking at Scripture, but hang on! We will get there, so be ready!
First, we look at what compassion is NOT. To do that, however, we need to take a look at the definition of compassion as written by St. Webster. So track with me as we look at this definition before delving into the NOT part.
Compassion ¡V ¡§Sympathetic consciousness of others¡¦ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.¡¨
(Read again)
Now that we know the definition, let¡¦s discuss what this does NOT say:
„h Compassion is not mere sympathy. It is not just ¡§feeling your pain.¡¨
„h It is not empathy ¡V putting yourself in their position.
„h It is not agreement ¡V being politically correct at the expense of being Biblically correct. We will discuss this more in depth later in the message.
The word compassion has been torn from the hands of the church and abused as it is used as a pawn in our country¡¦s social and political system.
Here is one example: supporting one political party¡¦s agenda over another makes you compassionate toward one group of people, while supporting the other party¡¦s agenda makes you not compassionate.
Another example is this: if you agree with homosexuality, you are compassionate. If you disagree, you are not only not compassionate, you are a homophobe.
A last example is this: supporting certain politically correct medical issues and research makes you compassionate.
By the way, where is the compassion in funding AIDS research at a much higher level than such things as breast cancer and leukemia, EACH of which kills more people per year than AIDS and is not spread primarily by behavior? You don¡¦t get breast cancer and leukemia by sleeping around. Other than in situations involving blood transfusions, you generally don¡¦t get AIDS except through sexual activity.
Where is the compassion in that? The answer is obvious ¡V it is NOT compassionate. Only politically correct. Go figure.
My point here is that compassion has been co-opted by political and worldly reasoning rather than Biblical reasoning.
Have I made myself clear on what compassion is NOT?
Then let¡¦s move on to looking at what compassion IS.
B. What Compassion IS.
Remember our definition of compassion ¡V sympathetic consciousness of others¡¦ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.
Compassion is mainly seeing something wrong and doing something about it.
Let¡¦s begin with looking at the compassion of God.
„h He is the author of compassion
„h Compassion is part of His Name (Ex. 34:5-7)
-Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His Name, the LORD. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ¡§The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.¡¨-
„h Listen to Lamentations 3:22-23:
-Because of the Lord¡¦s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.-
His compassion is not limited. Isn¡¦t that great!
„h The book of Jonah tells us that God had compassion on Ninevah after seeing their repentance in view of God¡¦s judgement on them.
„h Jesus had compassion on the crowds in Jerusalem (Mt. 9).
God IS compassion! And He shows compassion for us, His best and most precious creation. Even though we have sinned and walked away from His presence, rejecting Him.
And what did God¡¦s compassion drive Him to do? Provide a way out from the penalty of our sin. He sent His one and only Son to bleed and die on the cross so we could have forgiveness and eternity in heaven.
He acted. He wasn¡¦t just sympathetic. He didn¡¦t just have empathy regarding our hopeless situation. He did something about it.
And He did not allow His compassion to be derailed by the politics of a selfish society.
C. What Compassion DOES.
Let¡¦s turn the corner to see what compassion does in the life of the Christian. Turn with me to Matthew 25:31-40. This is on page _______ of the pew Bibles in the rack in front of you. Please follow along as I read these words of Jesus.
-¡§When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
¡§Then the King will say to those on His right, ¡¥Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.¡¦
¡§Then the righteous will answer Him, ¡¥Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?¡¦
¡§The King will reply, ¡¥I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.¡¦¡¨-
One of the things compassion does is to meet the physical needs of people. We feed, clothe, shelter, and visit, all in the Name of Jesus.
And we do it, not because they deserve it, and not only because they need it, but because in doing these things, we minister to Christ Himself. What a wonderful privilege!
People, we have a wonderful heritage! We seem to forget that it was the CHURCH who started the orphanages to take care of those children. That it was the CHURCH who started the soup kitchens. That it was the CHURCH who started the homeless shelters. In fact, the office of deacon was started by the early church to make sure that no one in the church was doing without.
However, I would be so bold to as to say that if the CHURCH had not let the government and other groups take over this vital ministry, this country would not be in the sad welfare situation it is now in.
Remember back in the mid-eighties, a group of musicians led by such people as Michael Jackson recorded a song, ¡§We are the World?¡¨ It sold a bajillion copies, and the proceeds were supposed to be sent to famine ravaged areas in Africa. I don¡¦t know how much it actually helped. I had heard once that most of the money did not make it over there.
Shortly after this, a bunch of Christian artists decided to do the same thing. I don¡¦t remember the song, or that it did very well, but the question came up in all this as to why the Christians weren¡¦t leading the charge against starvation in the world.
Well guess what! The Christians were there WAY before any of these secular artists ever thought about singing! Don¡¦t let anyone tell you we are sitting still. We are at the forefront!
The Salvation Army and others such as World Vision and Compassion International exist because the Body of Christ stepped up to the plate to minister in the Name of Jesus, carrying out those tasks outlined in the passage we just looked at.
Another thing compassion does is to tell the truth about life and Jesus. Isn¡¦t it a bit obvious that lying is not compassionate? Even lying to accommodate someone¡¦s feelings.
A few years ago, one of the pastors in Brookings learned that the Sons and Daughters homosexual student group at South Dakota State University was seeking a seat on the Student Senate.
Sam was concerned about this and wrote a letter to the Student Senate outlining the reasons he felt this was not in the best interests of the University.
A Student Senator called Sam at his office, to let him know of his strong disagreement with Sam. The question came up: ¡§Where is your compassion?¡¨ As if that was enough of a reason to let these people influence other impressionable young men and women.
Sam¡¦s answer is classic and it reflects something I mentioned near the beginning of the message: compassion does not mean agreement.
The world wants us to love sin by not calling it sin, and just ¡§live and let live.¡¨ That is how the world defines compassion.
Sam asked the young man this question. ¡§Isn¡¦t it more compassionate to tell someone they are involved in a lifestyle that kills the average male by age 36?¡¨
You see, compassion takes action. Telling someone they are going down a road that leads to pain and suffering and possibly death is compassionate. NOT telling them is not only not compassionate, it is not only not loving, it is sinful.
Sparing their feelings at the expense of their physical and spiritual well-being is not what God wants.
Don¡¦t look at me like that ¡V I didn¡¦t say compassion was easy!
Jesus did not fit the religious tolerance of His day, and He certainly does not fit the tolerance of our day. He made some rather exclusive claims. Listen to this well-known verse in John 14:6:
-Jesus answered, ¡§I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.¡¨-
Jesus didn¡¦t mince words. He claimed to be the only way. The ONLY way to God.
In this world of religious tolerance, it is hard to get people to understand this. We are told that all roads lead to heaven. That compassion demands we respect other religions as valid as Christianity.
But if Jesus meant what He said, then He is the ONLY way.
And if Jesus is the ONLY way, isn¡¦t it more compassionate to tell people and insist on this truth? Can we really call ourselves compassionate if we don¡¦t tell others that there is only one way?
Can you imagine standing before God and saying, ¡§I¡¦m sorry, God, but you know that it wasn¡¦t politically correct to insist that Jesus is the only way to You. I¡¦m really sorry about all those people who are in hell because I didn¡¦t want to offend their sensibilities.¡¨
Give me a break! Open your eyes, folks! People are dying to hear that there is hope here on earth and beyond the earth. And you are the person to take it to them.
Let me read one last passage of Scripture in Matthew 9:35-38 found on page _______ of the pew Bibles:
-Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ¡§The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.¡¨-
Then look at the very next verse, Chapter 10, verse 1 ¡V He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. ¡V
After listing the disciples, see what He does in verse 5 ¡V These twelve Jesus sent out.-
You see the connection? Jesus said to PRAY for workers, then He sent them to BE the workers. Isn¡¦t that just like God?
Compassion drives us to share the good news of salvation in Christ.
III. Conclusion
Compassion goes beyond what we normally think. It goes beyond sympathy and empathy to ACTION. It goes to the very heart of God as we minister to the physical and spiritual needs of others.
God showed His compassion by sending His Son. We show compassion by showing people God¡¦s compassion.
Pray that God would give us a real dose of His compassion. Pray that God would break your heart over lost souls who need to hear the truth in the midst of our pluralistic chaos. Pray that God would give all of us courage and fortitude to confront error and present truth, trusting God to use it in spite of how we think it was received.
And may God be glorified in our lives as we seek to mirror His compassion to a lost and dying world.
