Modern Compassion

Real compassion helps people treat each other humanely.

The modern strain of compassion, on the other hand, often leaves people feeling hurt because it generally disregards consequences that guide people in treating each other fairly.

There is a harmful form of modern compassion that both Christians and the rest of the public should be aware of. Real compassion often involves forgiving a remorseful person for some form of harm they have caused, but it does not suggest that there was nothing wrong with what was done in the first place. Real compassion also isn’t supposed to replace consequences in all cases, and there are instances where both compassion and justice can go hand in hand. However, the modern strain of compassion frowns on consequences in general, disdains words such as “wrong,” and also looks at people who try to enforce consequences in different contexts as being strict or old-fashioned.

This harmful modern strain doesn’t recognize that consequences help to keep people from repeatedly hurting other people and that people who are not sorry for what they have done have not learned from what they have done. Also, a person isn’t strict just for talking about consequences in the context of the law or the workplace, for example, when those consequences are not excessive and intended to keep people from mistreating each other. In fact, just consequences stem from the real form of compassion, which concerns how people are treated. The modern strain of compassion, on the other hand, often leaves people feeling hurt because it generally disregards consequences that guide people in treating each other fairly.

Both Christians and the rest of the public need to join hands in reeducating each other about what real compassion is and isn't. Real compassion isn’t about turning a blind eye to harmful behaviors. Real compassion isn’t about ignoring right and wrong and abandoning consequences and justice. It does concern a genuine sense of empathy that tries to keep in mind a person's circumstances, their humanity, and whether or not they are remorseful for the wrong they have done, but it does not dismiss the harm that was done as permissible.