Compassion during a Storm

“An unprecedented and historical eight-day period of winter weather occurred between 10 February and 18 February across Texas. The blast of arctic air broke daily records for climate sites in the region. All climate sites saw 5 to 6 consecutive days of temperature records as well as multiple days of record-breaking snowfall. This unforgettable event had catastrophic impacts to the entire state of Texas with failed power grids, burst water pipes, and limited road and air travel.” [NOAA]

“Meet Kay—Kay was stuck in her home during the winter storm and found herself in a dire situation. She was without power, water, and heat. She called United Rescue Alliance asking for help and their teams picked her up and provided her with shelter. She found hope in a crisis because of the community surrounding our organization. Stories like Kay’s remind us that God brings joy in the most desperate situations.” [URA]

United Rescue Alliance trained and prepared for assisting others in times of crisis and natural disasters. URA rescued Kay from her home, contacted local government for a warming facility and when the weather caused these facilities to fail i.e. loss of power, they contacted a local church to be a warming center.

Partnering with the local church as a shelter, businesses stepped up and provided various services: an oil service brought non-potable water for cleaning after hearing water had ceased, Chic-fil-A served sandwiches for lunch, bottle water was purchased and donated, people volunteered to cook and serve meals to hundreds of people, people volunteered to drive their four-wheel drive vehicles to transport people to safe shelter or to take groceries to shut-ins, etc.

Many people, businesses, churches, non-profit organizations and local government assisted in helping URA meet the community’s needs. It truly was a partnership. This is just a small sampling of the compassionate acts that were done during the historical snow and ice storm of February 2021.

What is Compassion?

Webster defines compassion as “a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; compassion is a mixed passion, compounded of love and sorrow; painful sympathy.”

“Compassion is an emotional response to sympathy and creates a desire to help. Compassion creates emotional distance from the individual or situation we are facing. Compassion helps us become more resilient, walk as servant leaders, and align with sustainable leadership.” [Jimenez]

Some people think empathy is compassion; it is similar, but a little different. “Empathy is our feeling of awareness toward other people’s emotions and an attempt to understand how they feel. It is actually instinctual. However, empathy can lead to burnout, especially if relating with those in which we have less experiential connection.” [Jimenez]

How to Show Compassion

Compassion can be in any form that brings help and assistance to someone in need whether that need is physical, emotional or spiritual.

Compassion was expressed to us as a young family when our refrigerator suddenly died and an emergency fund at my husband’s workplace replaced it. We were living paycheck to paycheck at the time and didn’t really have savings because we had just moved out-of-state to take his new job. His company’s care fund that was donated out of compassion to us – as new transplants and as a young family – meant the world to us. We later donated to the fund to help other people with their emergencies.

Compassion can be: caring for someone who is sick, reaching out to someone who is lonely (especially with covid restrictions!), donating vacation days to someone undergoing medical treatment or dealing with a recent funeral, etc. Compassion is meeting people in their time of need.

Science, Leadership and Compassion

“Contrary to what many believe, compassion is considered to be like a muscle that, as any other, can be strengthened with relevant exercises – or can deteriorate and atrophy. In other words, our capacity for compassion can expand, if we choose.” [Jazaieri]

“Compassion is critical to build highly effective business leaders, and it has three components:

• Affective – ‘I feel for you’ (empathy)
• Cognitive – ‘I understand you’ (empathy)
• Motivational – ‘I want to help you’” [CMT]

“Love responds out of the overflow of compassion giving people hope.” ~Angel Poorman, United Rescue Alliance Founder

Biblical Thoughts on Compassion

Paul exhorts us to “Put off the grave clothes of sin and the old life, and to put on the ‘grace-clothes’ of holiness and the new life in Christ.” [Wiersbe NT 686]

Put on…tender mercies or compassion. “Paul said that we have put on the new man. Now he gives some practical ways in which this can be done in our everyday lives. Paul describes the Christian graces which we are to put on as a garment. Tender mercies speaks of a heart of compassion.” [MacDonald 2059]

“Because the old man died in Christ, and the new man lives in Christ – believers must put off remaining sinful deeds and be continually renewed into the Christlikeness to which they are called. Just like a baby is born complete but immature, the new man is complete, but has the capacity to grow.  It is God’s plan that believers become progressively more like Jesus Christ, the one who made them.  Even as individual believers must discard old, sinful habits, the body of Christ must realize its unity and destroy the old barriers that separated people.” [MacArthur 1741-2]

“As a basis for his commands, Paul appealed to the readers’ conversion to Christ, using a metaphor comparing their salvation experience with putting on clothes: on the human side, the Colossians have gone from trusting themselves to trusting the gospel. That is, they have laid aside the old self and put on the new self. Because God is at work in the gospel, this same faith can be described from the divine side, stressing the supernatural and transforming results of faith.” [Moody 1872]

“This means that compassion is not just an attribute of God, but also a quality of His people.” [CP]

Compassion Scriptures

This form of compassion is found in two places in the Bible, Philippians and Colossians.

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also. In addition to all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” [Colossians 3:12-14]

“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintain the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own person interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:1-4)

Colossians 3 tells us to keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And to “set our minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. For we have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God.” It is such a comfort to be hidden in Christ.

Summary

•  Compassion is an attribute of God
• God says we can ‘put on’ or clothe ourselves with compassion just as we put on a garment
• Researchers say compassion can be strengthened just as we exercise and strengthen our muscles
• Scientist and leadership coaches say compassion builds effective, motivational and sustainable leadership
• Compassion is meeting people in their time of need
• Compassion can be in any form that brings help and assistance to someone in need whether that need is physical, emotional or spiritual
• Compassion can be done by an individual or by many individuals from a family, church, business or non-profit organization

Key – We are encouraged to live our life in Christ and to ‘put on’ or to ‘clothe ourselves’ with: a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness and love.

Recommendations:

If you are interested in learning more about United Rescue Alliance and their mission to equip and train sustainable leaders in emergency management to empower communities in the areas of disaster preparedness, response, resiliency and transformation, you can find out more here: https://www.unitedrescuealliance.org/

If you would like to read about God’s love, you can read the 4 Types of Love – here: 4 Types of Love – Strength with Dignity

Or you can read about Life and Godliness: Love – here:  https://strengthwithdignity.com/life-and-godliness-love/

References:

“Chade-Meng Tan: Everyday Compassion at Google.” www.isharad.com Retrieved May 26, 2021 from https://www.isharad.com/videos/compassion-the-secret-ingredient-of-googles-culture-by-chade-meng-tan/

“Compassion in the Bible.” www.compassion.com [CP] Retrieved May 12, 2021 from https://www.compassion.com/poverty/compassionate-bible-characters.htm#:~:text=%22Be%20kind%20and%20compassionate%20to,practice%20compassion%20in%20everyday%20life

“Historical Winter Storm Event.” NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the US Department of Commerce) on www.weather.gov for weather events in Texas February 10-18, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021 from https://www.weather.gov/media/ewx/wxevents/ewx-20210218.pdf

Jazaieri, Hooria. “Six Habits of Highly Compassionate People.” Published by Greater Good Magazine, April 24, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2021 from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/six_habits_of_highly_compassionate_people

Jimenez, Dr. Jacinta. “Compassion vs. Empathy.” Published by Better Up, September 2, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2021 from https://www.betterup.com/en-us/resources/blog/compassion-vs-empathy

MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Thomas Nelson, 2005.

MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary. Thomas Nelson, 2016.

The Moody Bible Commentary. Editors: Michael Rydelnik and Michael Van Laningham. Moody Publishers, 2014.

Webster 1828 Dictionary. Retrieved May 26, 2021 from http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/compassion

United Rescue Alliance. www.unitedrescuealliance.org Kay’s story was taken from URA’s Facebook entry on April 7, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021 from https://www.facebook.com/unitedrescuealliance/

Wiersbe, Warren B. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete New Testament. Published by David C. Cook, 2007.