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Rethinking compassion

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There is a false narrative in today’s culture that says anything that makes someone else feel bad isn’t compassionate. It’s this lie that routinely causes unbelievers to accuse Christians of being jerks because speaking truth — even in love — causes discomfort and feels judgmental.

And yet, the very opposite of compassion is knowing something to be true and failing to say something. Is a doctor who knows you have cancer and doesn’t tell you about it compassionate? Of course not. She knows that the only way to actually help you is by telling you that you have to stop smoking or else you’ll die. It doesn’t make her a jerk because she told you the truth.

Ironically, even if she told you about it in the most cold and unfeeling way possible, if it saved your life, you’d still thank her. While I’m not advocating that followers of Jesus should deliver truth in cold, uncaring ways, I am suggesting that the most compassionate thing to do is to speak the truth even when it isn’t received.

Today, rethink compassion and ask yourself if you have been keeping truth from those who desperately need to hear it because you know that they won’t like it. Saying it may actually be the most compassionate act you could show them.

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July 3, 2021by Paul Jenkins
Written by Paul Jenkins
Paul Jenkins is lead pastor of The Gathering, a community church located in beautiful downtown Albemarle, North Carolina. He's the author of God is My Air Traffic Controller and My Name's Not Lou. Paul is passionate about his wife, his 3 children, running, reading, coaching, leading people who are following Jesus, Swedish Fish and the Carolina Panthers.