I recently heard a term I had never heard before: “compassion fatigue.” Compassion fatigue is a gradual lessening of compassion over time. It’s common among individuals who work directly with trauma victims. Compassion fatigue can also be seen in the resistance of people to give money due to overexposure. We see the devastation of the earthquake in Haiti and we give money. We see the devastation of the tornadoes in the Midwest and we give money. We see the crushing poverty that children experience in Africa…and we then begin to think, “Oh well, you can’t help everyone.” Can you identify with this? I sure can. Today, let’s take a moment to consider two passages from Scripture, then allow them to challenge our thinking:

The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. (Psa. 145:8-9, 14-15, 17 NLT)

Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. (Luke 6:35-36 NLT)

I love that first passage, don’t you? It tells us many wonderful things about God. He is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry (good thing!) and filled with unfailing love (even better!). He’s good to everyone (even His enemies); He helps the fallen, and shows kindness to all. Aren’t you glad that the Lord never experiences compassion fatigue? Yahweh, the “I am” God, never gets tired of helping us! In the second passage, Jesus challenges us to become countercultural in the way we relate to others. He tells us to love our enemies by being good to them, to lend money to people without expectation of repayment. Then Jesus says we must be compassionate, in the ways the Father demonstrates His compassion toward us. This is a good reminder for you and me! We are called to reach out to the hurting people in this fallen world, not because we feel bad for them but because we are genuinely compassionate, like our Father. Today is a good time to take inventory. How are you, and how am I, demonstrating God’s generous compassion to the people around us, near or far?