Having Compassion One of Another

By: Dr. Paul Kingsbury

In our study on “compassion”, we have learned that compassion is measureable, merciful, and moving. Let’s remember a few other facts about this topic:

Compassion is oftentimes mistakenly identified as love, though is it not like agape love. If you say of someone in a relationship, “Oh, I don’t love them anymore,” what you probably mean is “I no longer have compassion for them. I have no more feeling in my heart for their pain.” But, we mistakenly call it love. In fact, oftentimes people confuse being in love with having compassion. Compassion is an emotion that one has for someone. The Bible says agape love is a love that never fails. Agape love is not an emotion; it is a decision and a commitment. When you love someone, you may not have compassion for them, but you may still (and you ought to still) have a commitment for them.

Today, we will begin to discuss ways in which we can grow and show compassion through our lives toward others:

Have a Proper View of Yourself and of Others

In these five occasions in the gospel of Matthew where Christ’s compassion is mentioned, let us look at some insights concerning how we can grow in our compassion for people. Perhaps your “compassion tank” is low. Wouldn’t it be a good thing to know how to fill it up? In Matthew 9:36, we find, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them.” One might say, “Well, I know why Jesus was compassionate, it was just because he saw the multitudes.” It is more than that. I know because sometimes looking at people can make you angry, instead of making you compassionate. We say, “You know, dummy, if you would just change this and change that, you wouldn’t be where you are.” It’s very difficult to have compassion in those cases.

Years ago, I had an opportunity to spend some time with Lester Roloff. Lester Roloff was a great man of God. Once, when he came to North Love Baptist Church in Rockford to preach, he brought group of young ladies with him. In Bro. Roloff’s ministry, they had several different homes including a home for men, a home for women alcoholics, and a home for young ladies. The girls that traveled with him were from the young ladies’ home. Bro. Roloff said something that, at the time, I thought to be kind of crude, but I now understand what he meant; and it demonstrates what we are talking about here. He said, “You know, I have a wonderful quartet of men that I could travel with, but I don’t, because Christians don’t care much about drunk, adult men. They just don’t. But if you take young girls and have them sing and testify, that touches the heart of compassion in more people.”

Now, I understand what he’s saying, and it is not a good thing. I’m simply saying that not everybody that comes into our life will draw a natural compassion from us. It is easy to have compassion on someone who is young. It is our natural response. However, not everyone that needs God’s help is young. Older people need to know that Someone cares about them, and we should too. Unfortunately, it seems that the longer a person lives in a lifestyle that is contrary to the Word of God, then the less compassion Christian people tend to have for them.

If we want to be like the Lord, then we have to figure out how to “restock” in this area of compassion. It comes from more than just seeing the multitudes. It has everything to do with our attitude about ourselves and about people. Notice the verses again, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, (He felt their feelings, their pain) because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Seeing Himself as a shepherd made it conducive for Jesus to have compassion for people. If you look at people from the point of view of a business person and say, “What can I get out of them?” If people don’t have very much to give, you are not going to tend to care very much about them or express care for them. Pastor James, the Lord’s half brother, wrote the little book of James and he spoke to his people about a problem they were having in their church in Jerusalem where he pastored. He said, “People are coming into our church, and when you notice that they are obviously people of means, or wealthy, you crowd around them like flies on honey, and try to give them the best seat in the place. Then somebody else comes in who is obviously poor and you say, ‘Well, see if you can find a place somewhere.’ This is not right.” When you and I see people as a commodity that can line our pockets or that can be a benefit to us, we will not have genuine compassion. However, when we begin to see ourselves as shepherds and people as sheep, then we can be moved with compassion for people. I know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10), and the Great Shepherd (I Peter 2, and I Peter 5), and my Shepherd (Psalm 23); but in reality, when you and I look at our lives as people who can potentially be used in a shepherding ministry by taking people that are lost, scattered abroad, and fainting, we can say, “I can do something for them.” This is when we will have the tendency to “get up” compassion for them, because we have a proper view of ourselves. In order to have compassion for people, I must have a proper view of myself and a proper view of the people that God’s called me to serve.