In a world that upholds material possessions and every success is measured by how much we gain, sometimes we have to reflect and rethink again the essence of life. Some time ago I read on ABC news that somewhere in Foshan, Guangong province, China, a 2-year-old girl named Wang Yue died after being run over by two vans. Sadly, it appeared that nobody cared about her and many just passed by without helping until an old woman pulled her aside and called for help. It was big news afterwards and was followed by a social media movement called “Please end the cold-heartedness”.
People can be so ignorant nowadays. Not only in China but also in our own surroundings, even without us ever noticing. I find one of the biggest enemies we have is the spirit of indifference. This can be anything small or insignificant, such as the cleanliness of our environment, but can cause a big difference. People might forget that to be able to have a clean environment, it takes all of us to be involved in and aware of our surroundings.
When we reflect, we might find that our life is so busy with our daily activities that we fail to realize the importance of life itself. Best selling author, Rene Suhardono, once said, “Our life can be so ‘noisy’ until we can’t hear what matters.” On the other hand, we see some people with their caring heart doing extraordinary things for others. They are called to do things not many people are willing to do. They do things to ease the burdens of the poor and needy people. They embrace the unfortunates and open their arms to help them. This is called compassion.
As we read in the Bible about our role model, Jesus was frequently moved with compassion when He saw there was a need to take some action. Often times we have feelings of pity towards others and we are sympathetic to their misfortunes, and we can also understand and share the feelings of other people and their circumstances. However, that is not enough. There is a great difference between sympathy or empathy, and compassion. Jesus not only felt pity or empathy, but also took meaningful and courageous/decisive action. He was not only moved when he saw the multitudes but also decided to healed them. He had a heart for those people and gave them solutions. Being compassionate is understanding someone’s problem and offering them a helping hand to ease their burdens.
This is the time for us to cultivate again the value of compassion towards the community we live in and take the role as a problem solver to make the world a better place. Let’s hope that in a world that can get very ‘noisy’, we can still nurture a generation that have a heart for everything they do and to be compassionate towards the world around them. When that happens, we know we still have hope for a greater future.
“And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” -Matthew 14:14
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