We Shall Show Compassion (Part 1)

We can all help alleviate suffering...

Compassion is an emotion involving a sense of caring and understanding for the suffering of others. It is often accompanied by a willingness to help those in need or in distress.

Jesus Christ is a great example of compassion for all. He never hesitated to stop and lift another. We have many examples of this in the scriptures where His disciples were concerned that He would be inconvenienced by the many requests for His attention, but Jesus always took the time to respond with love and compassion. He was always willing to leave the ninety-nine to help the one in need. It was only afterward that Jesus’ disciples saw the results of his compassionate acts and understood His deep love for God’s children.

In the story of cleansing the ten lepers, it is interesting that only one returned to thank Him. His comment “were there not ten?” showed His disappointment for their apparent lack of gratitude for this blessing. This is a key lesson for all who are on the receiving end of compassion.

My maternal grandparents were great examples of love and service to everyone they met. My grandfather was born of immigrant Italian parents and was the first generation born in America. His father worked in various mines throughout the Western United States. They eventually settled in Butte Montana, a tough mining town.

My grandmother was born of Pioneer heritage with her grandparents having crossed the plains in the mid-1850s to settle in Salt Lake City. They were both hard working and spent all their spare time serving those around them. They both loved to cook and provided many meals for friends and relatives. They visited the elderly and the sick on a regular basis.

My grandfather was always helping others with projects around their homes. He would walk around the neighborhood, looking for jobs that needed to be done then just start doing them. As a result of his constant service, he developed many close friendships.

Once, when he needed a new roof, his friends surprised him by returning the service he had often given them. While he was at work, they came over and completely reroofed his house. When he got home and saw what they had done, he just stood there and cried tears of gratitude.

We can begin to model this in our own lives as we become more aware of those around us. Look for people in need and offer an uplifting hand. There will be opportunities every day if we look for them. It may be as simple as opening the door for someone with their hands full, providing a listening ear to someone in need, or showing gratitude for those who serve you! A smile is free, but it can uplift another who is having a rough day. It is rare to share a smile and not receive one in return. Kindness is contagious!

Consider this thought experiment. Be honest with yourself. When you pass a homeless person on the street, what is your first thought? Are you scared? Are you disgusted with their appearance? Do you pity them? Do you want to help them? Our instinctual reactions are a good indication of our current level of compassion. If our immediate thought is to help them, setting aside our own current priorities, then we lean toward compassion.

Second question: what do you do in that moment? Do you keep walking, or act immediately on your first thought? Making quick decisions in these moments will reinforce this important trait in our lives and strengthen our resolve to be a force for good in this world.

We all need to make connections with others. It is an important part of being human. Babies who are abandoned or neglected will die from lack of love and connection before they die from malnutrition. Many who commit suicide are lonely; they feel unloved or unneeded. They lose all hope for real connections with others, and they want to end the pain this is causing them.

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is one of the top suicide locations in the United States. Hundreds jump to their death each year. Few survive the 265-foot drop to the water.

There is a peculiar phenomenon that has become a tradition among jumpers. They always leave their shoes on the bridge. They want someone to find their shoes and know that they jumped! They want to be remembered! It is heartbreaking to think about the loneliness and pain that they must be feeling in those last moments of life. If only one of us could have been there to show love and compassion in their critical moment of need!

Being more aware of other’s feelings and needs can give us many opportunities to serve. We can be the answer to help relieve their pain through connecting and showing compassion. Just imagine the good that we can do if each of us were to do one small act of compassion each day. Billions of acts of service every day! This one principle could do more to bring peace and harmony to our troubled world than any other.

Showing love to others through small, compassionate acts would restore hope with even the most cynical, and through the law of reciprocity encourage everyone to do the same.

As we expand our desire to help others, we will find many opportunities to support more formal causes. From local soup kitchens to international efforts to bring clean water and electricity to remote villages, there are many options to give service.

Our family has been blessed to participate in some of these projects. We have worked hand in hand with local villagers, planting gardens, building stoves for their homes, installing water lines to their villages, or creating simple grain milling operations that free up the women from hours of hand- grinding grains each day to feed their families. It is always amazing to me the level of connection that we develop with the villagers during these short expeditions. Even with the language barriers, deep love and gratitude are felt by all. The final day is always tough, with many tears flowing as we part ways.

Recently, on an expedition to Peru, the villagers made us promise to never forget them. The village children ran alongside our buses, holding out their hands and crying as we drove away!

There are many great causes to support. I am certain there is one that will pull at your heartstrings, too.

Compassion is our opportunity for God to work through us.
Therefore, We Shall Show Compassion.