Compassion is not only the mark of a mature Christian, it's an absolutely crucial quality to have if you want to grow in your faith.
To be compassionate is to relate to or identify with another person's suffering, with a desire to do something about it. If you are sad about another's troubles but don't care to help, you're not compassionate.
Compassion was perhaps the noblest quality of Christ in his ministry on earth. Not only was he moved by sick and hurting people, but he did something about it by healing them.
And yet, at times Jesus had to flee from the press of the crowds. The wisest person who ever lived, he also knew that he had to be compassionate toward himself as well.
As Christians, we often overlook the second part of the equation. We're too hard on ourselves. Sometimes we're even mean and unforgiving toward ourselves. Our self-talk reveals a shockingly cruel, unforgiving streak. Why do we do that? Why do we beat ourselves up?
We walk a fine line between taking responsibility for our own life, and blaming ourselves for everything bad that has happened to us. In America, especially, we're caught up in an epidemic of comparisonitis
We're constantly comparing ourselves to our friends, celebrities, co-workers, and siblings. We seem to have a natural talent for discovering ways that we come up short, then criticizing ourselves for it. But the essence of compassion, as Jesus taught it to us is:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." (Mk 12:30-31).
Did you catch that? We are to love our neighbor as we love ourself.
Have you reached the point in your Christian walk where you love yourself? Are you comfortable with yourself? Or do you try to escape from yourself with music, TV, buying things, or endless cell phone conversations? Can you stand to be alone with yourself, in silence?
Be compassionate toward yourself. You're not a superperson, and you never will be. But that's all right. That's not what Jesus wants. He just asks you to have a healthy, forgiving attitude toward yourself so you'll be able to act that way toward others. And surprisingly, the kinder you are to yourself, the kinder you'll be able to treat other people.
There's a difference between compassion and desperately seeking approval. Compassion has no ulterior motives. We are compassionate because it's the right thing to do, and because it's a quality that God desires in us. When we are compassionate, we are Jesus for other people. We act as his hands and heart.
Being compassionate--for the right reason--makes you more attractive as a person. It lets others see Christ working through you. It makes you stand out in a cold, uncaring world. It brings you, and the people you help, closer to God.
Work at being compassionate. Do whatever you can to relieve other people's pain. Be kind and gentle to them.
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