Compassion

Compassion is caring about someone else's feelings and trying our best to understand how others might be feeling, and offering to help that person.

Compassion- is all about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, especially when they are having a hard time. It’s about trying to understand how they are feeling and then being pro-active in wanting to help.

We teach children that their attitudes and actions must reflect kindness and compassion. Compassion is much stronger than sympathy; if you have compassion you step into someone’s shoes, share their experiences and sufferings and want to support them or act on their behalf. It is not just feeling sorry for someone but actually doing something about making their life or situation better.

Compassion is about ‘standing in someone else’s shoes’ when they are having a hard time. In other words, trying to understand how they might be feeling and doing our best to try to help.

Compassion requires an act of imagination and humility to share in the lives of others. Notice the qualities that Paul links together. He says ‘clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.’ (Colossians 3:12)

Colossians 3 v12 ‘Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.'

The difference between pity and compassion: pity just feels sorry, compassion does something about it.

'The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger in rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.' Psalm 145: 8-9.

Our Prayer for Compassion:

Dear Lord,

Please teach us compassion. Help us to notice what other people are feeling. Help us to put ourselves in other people’s shoes today and feel what it’s like to be them. Show us how to be kind to those around us who are feeling sad or hurt.

Amen.