Compassionate Compassion

Compassion is having sorrow for another’s sufferings and to be compassionate is to express that sorrow with some sort of action, a helping hand. I think it’s only natural for us to feel sorry for the millions of people having been displaced by weather related events this summer, but at the same time overwhelmed as to what we can do about it. I can remember as a boy the first time a deep seeded feeling of compassion pricked my heart. It was a cold winter day when I witnessed an old woman exiting a pharmacy, coughing loudly and really looking sick. Well, her coughing caused her to loose her grip on the brown paper bag she carried and as it hit the concrete sidewalk you could hear the bottle inside break. She started to cry watching the bag beginning to turn red, as it soaked up the contents of the bottle. I felt compassion, but knew not how to be compassionate. But a man nearby did, coming to her aid, comforting her and the last I saw, taking her back into the pharmacy. Every time I think about this, I pray he replaced her medicine.
At the judgment God won’t ask what kind of car you drove, but how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation. God won’t ask the square footage of your house, but how many people you invited into your home. God won’t ask about the clothes in your closet, but how many others you clothed. God won’t ask about your social class, but what kind of class you displayed. God won’t ask how many material possessions you had, but did they dictate your life. God won’t ask what your highest salary was, but if you compromised your principles to obtain it. God won’t ask how much money you spent on yourself, but how much did you give back to Him. God won’t ask how much overtime you worked, but was the overtime for yourself or your family. God won’t ask how many promotions you received, but how you promoted others. God won’t ask what your job title was, but if you preformed your job to the best of your abilities. God won’t ask what you did to help yourself, but what you did to help others. God won’t ask how many friends you had, but how many people to whom you were a friend. God won’t ask what you did to protect your rights, but how you protected the rights of others. God won’t ask in what neighborhood did you live, but how did you treat your neighbors. God won’t ask about the color of your skin, but about the content of your character. God won’t ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but how many times they didn’t. God won’t ask if His son loved you, but did you love Him.
[Psalm 112; Matthew 25: 31-46] Compassion is a personal and private thing, a feeling I may experience in a given situation, you may not and there’s nothing wrong with that. But to become a compassionate person I must act unselfishly toward that which I feel pity for. (Psalm 86) I serve a God who not only has compassion for me as the troubles of life invade and attempt to destroy my serenity, but my God is also compassionate toward me, active in my life. I pray to a compassionate God expecting an answer to my prayers with guidance in my everyday life. I pray God protect me from the evil one who lurks about watching and waiting to tempt me in a weak moment. I pray God will always show me a way of escape. Too often we seek God’s pity and demand a selfish solution. My life has become less troublesome since I’ve become compassionate and have learned that my God is active in my life and His compassionate grace is mine.