Become "Tenderly Compassionate"

NEVER before have so many of our fellow humans been in such dire need of compassionate help as they face famine, sickness, poverty, crime, civil strife, and natural disasters.  Compassion denotes a sympathetic awareness of another's suffering or adversity combined with a desire to alleviate it. Like the warm rays of the bright sun, compassion can soothe a distressed soul, lessen the pain, and lift the spirits of an afflicted person.

We can show compassion by our actions and our words-caring for others and being there when they need us.  It is good not to limit compassion to family, friends, and acquaintances.  We can widen out to include people whom we don't even know.  "If you love those loving you, what reward do you have?"  asked Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount.  This compassionate man also said:  "All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you must also likewise do to them." -Matthew 5:46, 47; 7:12. 

You can read these words-known as the Golden Rule-in the Holy Scriptures.  Many agree that the Bible is the ultimate guide to showing compassion.  The Scriptures repeatedly express our obligation to help those who, for whatever reason, cannot help themselves.  The Bible presents its  Author and Creator, Jehovah God, as the one who is preeminently  compassionate.

For example, we read: "[God] defends the rights of orphans and widows.  He cares for foreigners and gives them food and clothing."  (Deuteronomy 18:18, Contemporary English Version)  Jehovah God is described as "executing judgment  for the defrauded ones, the One giving bread to the hungry ones." (Psalm 146:7) Regarding disadvantaged immigrants, Jehovah decreed:  "The alien resident . . .should become to you like a native of yours; and you must love him as yourself." -Leviticus 19:34.

Displaying compassion, however, does not always come naturally.  The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Colossae:  "Strip off the old personality with its practices, and cloth  yourselves with the new personality which through accurate knowledge is being made new according to the image of the One who created it . . .As God's chosen ones, holy and loved, clothe yourselves with the tender affection of compassion." -Colossians 3:9, 10, 12.

Thus cultivating a compassionate attitude takes effort.  That attitude is a part of "the personality" that Christians are expected  to put on.  Paul lived in the brutal world of ancient Rome. He encouraged his fellow believers to make drastic changes in their personality in order for them to become more sympathetic, more compassionate.

Next time: The Power of Compassion

From the Watchtower magazine, 2007