Compassion

One of the great sailing ships in history, The Flying Cloud, a three mast schooner built in 1851 for $50,000.  On July 31, during one trip, she made 374 miles in 24 hours.

Later, a steam ship by the same name was crossing the Atlantic on a timed schedule to arrive in England. A man fell overboard, and several seaman ran to the captain that they must turn back, “a man is overboard”. The captain said, “ I have a strict schedule, it takes too long to turn around and go back”.

Whereupon, all the men on the ship stopped work and told the captain they would do nothing else until he turned the ship and went back to pick up the man overboard.  The captain seeing his dilemma turned and went back, the half drowned man was hauled on board.  The captain came running as the man was being relieved of the water in his system, the captain who had been “cussing and fussing” changed totally when he said, “ Why didn’t you tell me it was my son”.  He had compassion for his own son, but had little compassion for another man’s son who he thought was overboard.

Recently, a publishing house sent me a magazine, put out by atheists trying to convince Christians to their way of thinking.  I sent the magazine back with these comments, “When you can send me a book that has a story more beautiful thn that of the prodigal son, a story more COMPASSIONATE then that of the good Samaritan, poetry more beautiful then the 23rd Psalms, history more interesting then the Old Testament, a savior more trust worthy than the one proclaimed through the New Testament, I will give some thought to your magazine”. 

Once, I went from Jerusalem to Jericho, about 16 miles, and could not help but think as I went down, toward the Dead Sea, of the compassionate story told in Luke 10.  In the 150 words we find the essence of compassion.  Only one who has been robbed, only one who has cared for someone who has been robbed and abused, only one who has seen the hypocrisy of those who should care, only the disabled can understand the real meaning of the story (I am a blind, 100% disabled service-connected veteran).  As blind and deaf Helen Keller said in her 1904 book, “there is no isolation like the isolation of blindness”.  Can one even imagine what it is like to be both blind and deaf? Yet, through the compassion of another person, who is buried with her in the floor of the national cathedral (Anne Sullivan), she was able to make a great contribution to the world.

When Hitler began his book burning in Germany in 1933, he so despised the disabled (the disabled were high on his list for the death chambers, he killed 275,000 disabled persons), that the first book on his list was Helen Keller’s book. A disabled person does not have to live very long in the world of the “normal” until he learns there is very little compassion.  Friends and even relatives will come by for a few minutes and when they leave will say, “We will pray for you”. I could not live another day without prayer, but it is so cheap for someone to make that statement to me when I know that they don’t mean a word of it. On very rare occasions, someone will bring some food by knowing that I live alone and the daily challenge of such activities. Four times in my lifetime, and I could give you the names of each, a relative has brought by some food.

About 20 years ago, I was active in a large Baptist church, where my gifts and loyalty were well known.  I have my own car and can afford a driver, but I realize the many members of any congregation who have great difficulty with transportation (grocery store, drug store, doctors, etc).  I had a new car delivered to the church and asked that it be used for the disabled and others in the church who needed transportation. I suggested they form a committee of drivers who would be available certain days, all this as a matter of compassion for those in need.

One of the pastors, took the car to a nearby city and sold it.  I know what happened , because the car had been titled from the out of town dealer to me initially and I had transferred the title to the church.  I was too insulted to make any inquiries, God knew my heart in this matter and as with other special gifts to the church, I found that their compassion was limited. 

Prayer is a two way discourse. At this time of year, Christian churches celebrate lint the 40 days before Easter, a time when many deny self with food or some other activity.  “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) We need to deny self, not just during this season but everyday of our life. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” ( Romans 12:1-2)

When we learn to “deny self“, and our bodies become a “living sacrifice”, we will become more compassionate. This is in direct contrast to everything the psychologist thinks, teaches, or prescribes. The “big I little you” mentality has so taken over the thinking and attitudes of most people, including those who profess Christ, that young people now have replaced compassion with competition and comparison. Seven times in the New Testament our blessed Lord portrays compassion: “Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.” (Matthew 15:32)

He took a small boy's lunch, some loaves and fishes, gave thanks and fed thousands.  In speaking before a women’s group one time, I said “the compassion of Christ feeding the thousands of men, women, and children is a wonderful lesson of the power of our savior’s love, but almost as wonderful was the love and compassion of a small boy's mother in packing him a lunch, of what she had, (bread and fish) knowing that a young growing boy would get hungry.”  And just think of what our Redeemer can do with our smallest actions.  It is also significant, that they picked up the fragments that were left which should teach us for time and eternity to be careful with our blessings, food is never thrown away in my house. I have seen too many hungry people throughout the world and God sent me all over the world to tell you that many of the citizens of the world, particularly children, live in a state of constant need. As one driver told me in Ghana, “it is the grace of God and anything we can pick from bushes”.