What Does the Bible Say About Compassion?
The whole Bible is a book on compassion. Throughout the Old and New Testaments references to compassion are specifically mentioned over 90 times. From kings to prophets to everyday people, the Bible shows that when people fail, God has compassion for them and forgives them. The Bible talks about how the right way to live is with a compassionate mind set, from the perspective of love. It also specifies ways for people show compassion.
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Identification
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Compassion is when people feel sympathy for someone suffering and want to help that person. Even when that suffering person isn't a good person, people can have compassion for him. The Bible says that if someone is unforgiving, God will not forgive him until he changes. In Matthew 18:23-34 Jesus relates a parable about compassion. In the parable, a king had compassion and forgave the debt of a man who couldn't pay. This man went and demanded payment from someone who owed him money. He did not show compassion when told the debt couldn't be paid right away. The king found out about this. He had the man he had forgiven arrested. This ties into Philippians 2:4, "Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."
Features
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Luke 10:25-37 relates Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable tells how a Jewish man was beaten on a road and helped by a Samaritan instead of the religious leader and the Levite who also passed by. This parable was told by Jesus to an expert on Moses' Law who wanted to justify not caring about certain kinds of people. Samaritans and Jews were contentious with each other. The parable shows that compassion is on an individual basis and that compassion looks past differences. This is also exemplified in the account of Moses in Exodus 2:6 which says, "The princess opened and saw a baby boy. He was crying and she felt sorry for him. 'This is one of the Hebrew babies' she said." (TEV) Jesus says in Matthew 9:13, "But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Jesus was talking to some Pharisees who were Jewish religious leaders.
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Misconceptions
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Proverbs 12:10 says, "A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel." A person must come from the right perspective when showing compassion; otherwise it's not really compassion. The Bible also says in Matthew 7:6, "Do not give what is holy to dogs---they will only turn and attack you. Do not throw pearls in front of pigs---they will only trample them underfoot." If someone knows what they are doing is wrong and doesn't want to change, there are times when compassion is not appropriate.
Considerations
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The Bible says that people who truly follow God will have compassion. Some references to this are Colossians 3:12-13, First Peter 3:8, Philippians 2:1-2 and Ephesians 4:32. James 5:11 states, "We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."
Significance
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Throughout the Bible it is stated that God will always be compassionate to people. Some references are Second Kings 13:23, Psalms 103:13 and Isaiah 54:8.
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