Recently,
Christy and I found a notice from the city in our mailbox. I’d let the tree in
our backyard extend its branches into the alley where they struck the garbage
truck on the cab each time they collected the trash. So, I hired a tree trimmer.
They came with a very loud chipper and a multitude of chainsaws and other
implements of destruction. When they arrived, Christy and I did not hear their
knock. Undeterred, they set to work in our backyard with much clangor and
sawdust. Our cat was outside, enjoying the morning. Well, she retreated under
the shed and hid. Once Christy and I understood what was going on, she insisted
that the work stop until she could coax Kimmy, the cat, out from underneath the
shed. The men waited patiently while Christy plied her with treats. Eventually,
she emerged, covered in spiderwebs and other debris and the tree whacking recommenced.
Christy and Kimmy retreated to the house where they licked their psychic
wounds. Christy felt Kimmy’s inner turmoil and fear. She was moved with
compassion.
Our modern
word compassion comes to us from Latin through French. It is a compound word
made up of com, with or together, and pati, to suffer. The idea of compassion
is to somehow suffer with. We come alongside the afflicted and take on their
pain. We understand. There is the notion of togetherness. Compassion does not
see “the other.” Compassion sees a brother in need and responds accordingly.
Compassion involves itself in the pain and anguish of mankind. Anyone that
seeks the mantle of a leader must feel the hurts of others and be moved to
action.
In Matthew 9:6 we read, “When he
(Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed
and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” ESV. True leaders look out for
the interests of the weakest in their organization. Those with wealth and power
know well how to move the levers of society to ensure their own protection. They
wield their influence in ways to preserve their status and wealth. Those on the
margins, the “helpless” and weak, having no power or influence to wield, need
someone to look out for them. When we evaluate a candidate for possible
advancement to high office, we must consider their ability to show compassion.
Will they
use their office to protect the weak, the indigent, the halt, the oppressed,
and those that exist on the margins? Or, will they use their authority to strengthen
their own position, running over those in most desperate need of help. Leaders
without compassion reshape their organizations and countries in their own image,
creating brutish places devoid of compassion. Places which exert no check on
the powerful, letting them run over the weak with impunity. In such a place, the
worldview narrows, exalting the powerful and excluding the other. Compassionate
leaders exert a brake on this all too human characteristic.
We need
leaders that willingly protect those without power and influence, calling on
the rest of us to listen to our better impulses. Providing space and a voice to
the minority requires sacrifice. We must allot resources and influence too
those without, depriving ourselves of things within our grasp. Compassionate
leaders help us see a bigger picture, one in which those formerly on the
margins occupy a place of respect. Compassionate leaders understand the
dynamics of power in this world. They know that left on our own, humans tend
to crush the weak in the base drive to acquire. Leaders, moved by compassion,
take steps to protect the weak. They also use the influence of their good office to
educate and call us to action. They intuitively know that our strength as a
nation comes from our compassion.
Our leaders,
the men and women we choose, represent us. They show the world what kind of
people we are. When we choose leaders that display a deficit in compassion, we
tell the world that we are not an empathetic people. We clearly announce that
we embrace bullies. We value coarseness and raw displays of power. We declare
that we consider raw power our strength and honor those who willingly
subordinate others through its exercise.
We often
mistakenly measure or strength as a nation by our GDP or military forces. We
look at things like trade balances when comparing our nation with others. Our
true greatness flows from our compassionate treatment of those in need. When we
take care of the needy, welcome the homeless, and set aside resources for the
impoverished we find true greatness. We need leaders that willingly shoulder
this burden, leading us to a better, greater future. We should reject those
candidates lacking in compassion as unsuited for high office. Instead, we need
leaders willing to sacrifice. Their fine example will lead us to embrace a more
noble future, one in which all people find a welcome and open door.
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