In this thread, I’d like to discuss the topic of compassion. I’ll address what it is, then turn to Scripture to find out what G-d says about the compassion He shows us, and by extension the compassion we are to show others.
First, what IS compassion? Unfortunately, many people confuse it with kindness. It’s not the same thing. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “compassion” as:
Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.
Kindness is a bit of a weak word. It’s just being nice to someone. But compassion goes so much deeper. It tells a lot more about the character of a person. You can be kind to someone and be a horrible person, but it takes a truly good being to show compassion. That is one emotion that can’t be faked. This is why, I believe, it is another amazing part of G-d’s character. Now, let’s turn to the Word!
My first point is that G-d is absolutely and completely compassionate for every single one of us, and He makes that abundantly clear in His Word.
Tehillim (Psalms) 116:5
Adonai is merciful and righteous; yes, our G-d is compassionate.
Now, here’s a verse that I find particularly incredible on this subject.
Eikhah (Lamentations) 3:21-23
But in my mind I keep returning to something, something that gives me hope -that the grace of Adonai is not exhausted, that his compassion has not ended. On the contrary, they are new every morning! How great your faithfulness!
Now, I find this so fascinating, because the book of Eikhah was written by the prophet Jeremiah, who was called “the weeping prophet” and suffered from a constant state of depression his entire life. Yet, look at what he says! He has HOPE because the grace and compassion of G-d are NEVER ENDING! They are renewed every morning! That is just AMAZING! Isn’t G-d just so incredible and merciful and loving to His Children?
Mikhah (Micah) 7:18-19
Who is a G-d like you, pardoning the sin and overlooking the crimes of the remnant of his heritage? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in grace.He will again have compassion on us, he will subdue our iniquities. You will throw all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Let’s take a look at the story of Yonah (Jonah) for just a moment. I’m pretty sure we all here know the story. Yonah was a prophet, and one day G-d came to him and told him to go to the city of Nineveh. Yonah said no, the city of Nineveh is dangerous. So he takes a ship to a place called Tarshish. Along the way, a great storm hits. The men of the ship know G-d caused the storm, and throw Yonah overboard in hopes that G-d would take the storm away – which He did. Yonah is then swallowed up by a big fish, presumably a whale. He stays there for three days, and then G-d causes the fish/whale to vomit Yonah on dry land. Yonah repents, then goes to the city of Nineveh. He gives them the message G-d gave him: repent of your wicked ways and turn your eyes upon Him, or He will destroy you.
Naturally, the people repented. Their repentance was so pure and so amazing that even the king of Nineveh humbled himself before G-d. Satisfied, Yonah left the city and went to the top of a cliff overlooking the city. There he sat, waiting for G-d to smite the citizens of Nineveh. Yonah actually became ANGRY with G-d for sparing the people! Yonah 4 says the following:
Yonah (Jonah) 4:1-4
But this was very displeasing to Yonah, and he became angry.He prayed to Adonai, "Now, Adonai, didn't I say this would happen, when I was still in my own country? That's why I tried to get away to Tarshish ahead of time! I knew you were a G-d who is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in grace, and that you relent from inflicting punishment. Therefore, Adonai, please, just take my life away from me; it's better for me to be dead than alive!" Adonai asked, "Is it right for you to be so angry?"
(Now, remember the question G-d asks him, because it becomes very important at the end of the chapter.)
Did you see that? I knew you were a G-d who is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in grace, and that you relent from inflicting punishment. If Yonah knew this so well, why was he so angry with G-d? It was because he lacked compassion. He didn’t care about the people of Nineveh. He didn’t care about their salvation. He just wanted to watch G-d destroy them. His act of fleeing from G-d’s command to go to Nineveh was because he was trying to prevent G-d from SPARING the people of Nineveh!
Later, G-d prepares a bean plant to grow and shade Yonah from the hot desert sun. Yonah is pleased, and so he relaxes. Before dawn the next day, however, G-d prepares a worm, and it causes the plant to dry up, so it would provide no more shelter for Yonah. When the sun came up, G-d also prepared a scorching wind out of the east. Yonah was so uncomfortable and hot that he was literally on the verge of fainting. Once again, he asked G-d to let him die, because life was not worth living like this. Here’s where G-d’s earlier question comes back in an amazing statement about G-d:
Yonah 4:9-11
G-d asked Yonah, "Is it right for you to be so angry about the castor-bean plant?" He answered, "Yes, it's right for me to be so angry that I could die!"Adonai said, "You're concerned over the castor-bean plant, which cost you no effort; you didn't make it grow; it came up in a night and perished in a night. So shouldn't I be concerned about the great city of Ninveh, in which there are more than 120,000 people who don't know their right hand from their left - not to mention all the animals?"
This is why I find this simple statement so amazing. G-d says to Yonah, “You care SO MUCH about that silly bean plant, and you put no effort into it! It came and went in a matter of a night. So how much more do you think I care about the people of Nineveh, whom I knit in the wombs of their mothers with My own hands?”
G-d MADE YOU personally, all by Himself! And because you are His masterpiece, His creation, He cares so immensely for us that we can’t even fathom it!
My second point is that just as G-d shows us compassion, so too should we show our fellow man compassion. An excellent example of this is one given by Yeshua himself in his parable of the Good Samaritan. To summarize the parable, a man was walking along the road from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) on his way to Yericho (Jericho). He was attacked by robbers and they beat him, stripped him, and left him for dead. A cohen (priest) happened to walk by, but rather than help the man, he went to the other side of the road and continued on. A man from the tribe of Levi also came upon the man, but he did the same thing the cohen did. Finally, a man from Shomron (that is, a Samaritan) came along the road. When he saw the man, he was moved by COMPASSION. He cleaned the man and dressed his wounds, then carried him to the nearest inn. He didn’t just leave the man there. No, he took care of the man, then paid the innkeeper two days’ wages the next day. He told the innkeeper to use the money to care for the man, and that if he spent more than the two days’ wages, the Samaritan would pay more to the innkeeper when he came back. Yeshua had something to say about how we should look at this story.
Luke 10:36-37
Of these three, which one seems to you to have become the `neighbor' of the man who fell among robbers?He answered, "The one who showed mercy toward him."Yeshua said to him,You go and do as he did.
Pay special attention to that last line. “You go and do as he did.” Do what as the Samaritan did? Show mercy and compassion toward our fellow man. I leave you with one final word:
Colossians 3:12-13
Therefore, as G-d’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you forgive.
Don’t be a Yonah, my friends. Be that man from Shomron. Show compassion toward your fellow man, be they Christian or non-Christian.
First, what IS compassion? Unfortunately, many people confuse it with kindness. It’s not the same thing. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “compassion” as:
Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.
Kindness is a bit of a weak word. It’s just being nice to someone. But compassion goes so much deeper. It tells a lot more about the character of a person. You can be kind to someone and be a horrible person, but it takes a truly good being to show compassion. That is one emotion that can’t be faked. This is why, I believe, it is another amazing part of G-d’s character. Now, let’s turn to the Word!
My first point is that G-d is absolutely and completely compassionate for every single one of us, and He makes that abundantly clear in His Word.
Tehillim (Psalms) 116:5
Adonai is merciful and righteous; yes, our G-d is compassionate.
Now, here’s a verse that I find particularly incredible on this subject.
Eikhah (Lamentations) 3:21-23
But in my mind I keep returning to something, something that gives me hope -that the grace of Adonai is not exhausted, that his compassion has not ended. On the contrary, they are new every morning! How great your faithfulness!
Now, I find this so fascinating, because the book of Eikhah was written by the prophet Jeremiah, who was called “the weeping prophet” and suffered from a constant state of depression his entire life. Yet, look at what he says! He has HOPE because the grace and compassion of G-d are NEVER ENDING! They are renewed every morning! That is just AMAZING! Isn’t G-d just so incredible and merciful and loving to His Children?
Mikhah (Micah) 7:18-19
Who is a G-d like you, pardoning the sin and overlooking the crimes of the remnant of his heritage? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in grace.He will again have compassion on us, he will subdue our iniquities. You will throw all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Let’s take a look at the story of Yonah (Jonah) for just a moment. I’m pretty sure we all here know the story. Yonah was a prophet, and one day G-d came to him and told him to go to the city of Nineveh. Yonah said no, the city of Nineveh is dangerous. So he takes a ship to a place called Tarshish. Along the way, a great storm hits. The men of the ship know G-d caused the storm, and throw Yonah overboard in hopes that G-d would take the storm away – which He did. Yonah is then swallowed up by a big fish, presumably a whale. He stays there for three days, and then G-d causes the fish/whale to vomit Yonah on dry land. Yonah repents, then goes to the city of Nineveh. He gives them the message G-d gave him: repent of your wicked ways and turn your eyes upon Him, or He will destroy you.
Naturally, the people repented. Their repentance was so pure and so amazing that even the king of Nineveh humbled himself before G-d. Satisfied, Yonah left the city and went to the top of a cliff overlooking the city. There he sat, waiting for G-d to smite the citizens of Nineveh. Yonah actually became ANGRY with G-d for sparing the people! Yonah 4 says the following:
Yonah (Jonah) 4:1-4
But this was very displeasing to Yonah, and he became angry.He prayed to Adonai, "Now, Adonai, didn't I say this would happen, when I was still in my own country? That's why I tried to get away to Tarshish ahead of time! I knew you were a G-d who is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in grace, and that you relent from inflicting punishment. Therefore, Adonai, please, just take my life away from me; it's better for me to be dead than alive!" Adonai asked, "Is it right for you to be so angry?"
(Now, remember the question G-d asks him, because it becomes very important at the end of the chapter.)
Did you see that? I knew you were a G-d who is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in grace, and that you relent from inflicting punishment. If Yonah knew this so well, why was he so angry with G-d? It was because he lacked compassion. He didn’t care about the people of Nineveh. He didn’t care about their salvation. He just wanted to watch G-d destroy them. His act of fleeing from G-d’s command to go to Nineveh was because he was trying to prevent G-d from SPARING the people of Nineveh!
Later, G-d prepares a bean plant to grow and shade Yonah from the hot desert sun. Yonah is pleased, and so he relaxes. Before dawn the next day, however, G-d prepares a worm, and it causes the plant to dry up, so it would provide no more shelter for Yonah. When the sun came up, G-d also prepared a scorching wind out of the east. Yonah was so uncomfortable and hot that he was literally on the verge of fainting. Once again, he asked G-d to let him die, because life was not worth living like this. Here’s where G-d’s earlier question comes back in an amazing statement about G-d:
Yonah 4:9-11
G-d asked Yonah, "Is it right for you to be so angry about the castor-bean plant?" He answered, "Yes, it's right for me to be so angry that I could die!"Adonai said, "You're concerned over the castor-bean plant, which cost you no effort; you didn't make it grow; it came up in a night and perished in a night. So shouldn't I be concerned about the great city of Ninveh, in which there are more than 120,000 people who don't know their right hand from their left - not to mention all the animals?"
This is why I find this simple statement so amazing. G-d says to Yonah, “You care SO MUCH about that silly bean plant, and you put no effort into it! It came and went in a matter of a night. So how much more do you think I care about the people of Nineveh, whom I knit in the wombs of their mothers with My own hands?”
G-d MADE YOU personally, all by Himself! And because you are His masterpiece, His creation, He cares so immensely for us that we can’t even fathom it!
My second point is that just as G-d shows us compassion, so too should we show our fellow man compassion. An excellent example of this is one given by Yeshua himself in his parable of the Good Samaritan. To summarize the parable, a man was walking along the road from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) on his way to Yericho (Jericho). He was attacked by robbers and they beat him, stripped him, and left him for dead. A cohen (priest) happened to walk by, but rather than help the man, he went to the other side of the road and continued on. A man from the tribe of Levi also came upon the man, but he did the same thing the cohen did. Finally, a man from Shomron (that is, a Samaritan) came along the road. When he saw the man, he was moved by COMPASSION. He cleaned the man and dressed his wounds, then carried him to the nearest inn. He didn’t just leave the man there. No, he took care of the man, then paid the innkeeper two days’ wages the next day. He told the innkeeper to use the money to care for the man, and that if he spent more than the two days’ wages, the Samaritan would pay more to the innkeeper when he came back. Yeshua had something to say about how we should look at this story.
Luke 10:36-37
Of these three, which one seems to you to have become the `neighbor' of the man who fell among robbers?He answered, "The one who showed mercy toward him."Yeshua said to him,You go and do as he did.
Pay special attention to that last line. “You go and do as he did.” Do what as the Samaritan did? Show mercy and compassion toward our fellow man. I leave you with one final word:
Colossians 3:12-13
Therefore, as G-d’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you forgive.
Don’t be a Yonah, my friends. Be that man from Shomron. Show compassion toward your fellow man, be they Christian or non-Christian.
