Compassion Instinct
Have you ever wondered if your faith is authentic. If so, take a look at your life. Are you doing good for others?
ALL the major religions place great importance on compassion. Whether it’s the parable of the good Samaritan in Christianity, Judaism’s “13 attributes of compassion” or the Buddha’s statement that “loving kindness and compassion is all of our practice,” empathy with others in need is seen as a special virtue that has the power to change the world.
Research at the University of Chicago, showed that even rats are driven to empathize with another suffering rat and to go out of their way to help it out of its quandary. Studies with chimpanzees and human infants too young to have learned the rules of politeness, also back up these claims. The data continues with studies at Harvard University showing that adults’ and children’s first impulse is to help others. It is not surprising that compassion is a natural tendency - it’s essential for human survival.
If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means, some means at all, to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.
The efficacy of compassion is universally valued. When you submit to your compassion instinct, relationships become more intimate; mindfulness increases; perspectives change. Practicing compassion is a means to becoming more deeply human.
Kindness and compassion, empathy and mercy are the humane virtues that lead us away from beastly self-interest. Let's cultivate what is humane, in Jesus' name. ~BZ