The Power to Create Compassionate Change
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
In Biblical Greek, the word “empathy” is (sumpatheo), which means “to sympathize, feel with, or experience compassion.” The values that guide our faith in our Triune God revolve around caring for others with supportive loving-kindness, which the Biblical Hebrew calls “hesed.” Colossians 3:12 beautifully describes God’s instruction on how to provide loving-kindness. “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” So easy to say, yet so difficult to live.
At present, empathy is viewed as weakness. According to “The Lancet,” a peer-reviewed medical journal, “U.S. foreign aid cuts cause more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, including over 4.5 million children under the age of five.” Political decisions have real-world consequences. Each one of the 14 million deaths, to a person, is a child of God that God cries over.
In this callous moment of human history, God is calling us to expand our world. We make our world smaller when we respond to life changes with fear. Our leaders easily manipulate us by stoking fear. Immigrants will steal our jobs. The LGBTQ+ community will destroy the traditional family. Liberals will demolish the capitalist system. Conservatives are Nazi sympathizers. It is easier to blame “the other” than to find creative ways to work together, “lifting burdens,” and empowering our world.
As people of faith, we are not left to our own devices. The Holy Spirit works beside and within us. With God’s guidance, we have the potential to recreate situations with justice and compassion. We begin by trusting God’s power to transform an often-embittered world. Then, we reach out to God, asking for the loving-kindness necessary to nurture a compassionate soul. With the eyes of God, we will recognize God’s call to reach out against injustice and bring peace and hope to a world in need. Today, offer a prayer to God so we can make a lasting difference in God’s name.
