Romans 12:15 reads, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”  Rejoicing with others is easy. It’s the weeping with others that is difficult. Weeping with others requires displaying the emotion of compassion.

Scripture abounds with statements and demonstrations of God’s compassion. In Psalm 145:8-9, we read, “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”

Paul challenged the Colossian church to show compassion with these words, “… put on a heart of compassion…” [Colossians 3:12]

Throughout the month of February, we will be striving to demonstrate more compassion towards people we encounter daily. I discovered an article written by Kendra Cherry, MSEd. It is titled,  “How to Show More Compassion to Others—and Why You Should.” Here is a partial excerpt from that article.

Compassion involves feeling another person’s pain and wanting to take steps to help relieve their suffering. The word compassion itself derives from Latin and means “to suffer together.”

It is related to other emotions, such as sympathy, and empathy although the concepts have some key differences. Empathy refers more to the general ability to take another person’s perspective and feel the emotions of others. Compassion, on the other hand, is what happens when those feelings of empathy are accompanied by the desire to help.

Compassion and empathy share common elements, but compassion goes a step beyond. Rather than just imagining yourself in their shoes, compassion drives you to take action to help that person. Because you are able to feel those emotions so keenly—almost as if it is happening to you—there is a strong motivation to find a way to change the situation or ease the other person’s pain.

Think of compassion as a revved-up, more active form of empathy. It’s why you might send your friend a “just checking in” text when you know they’ve had a rough day. When you notice your co-worker is extra quiet, compassion is why you offer a quick, “Hey, you seem a little off today. Is everything OK?”

Even when you feel compassion, knowing how to best help or show your support is not always easy. You might feel awkward or uncomfortable or worry about making the situation worse. When emotions feel “heavy” and you aren’t quite sure how to help, there are several different steps you can take to show compassion to others.

Speak with kindness

Apologize when you’ve made a mistake

Listen carefully and without judgment

Be encouraging

Offer to help someone with a task

Be happy for someone else’s success

Accept people for who they are

Forgive people for making mistakes

Be respectful

Express gratitude and appreciation

Be patient

Practicing compassion means observing another person’s circumstances without judgment and considering how one might feel in a similar context. Let’s practice more compassion this month. — Tom