Compassion—The Comeback Kid

Why was empathy on the decline a decade ago, and why is it on the rebound now? We aren’t sure. But from an evolutionary perspective, perhaps the bigger question is, why should humans be empathetic at all? Psychology professor Jamil Zaki theorizes, “Human beings pay more attention to negative news compared to positive events. This makes evolutionary sense: it’s safe to ignore a sunset, but not a tsunami.” Evolution requires us to focus on the bad for the survival of our species. Zaki believes this bias could also cause people to see the worst rather than the best in others.

But from a biblical worldview, Christians have a higher calling. Kindness—and with it, compassion—is a fruit of the Spirit. Philippians 4:8 commands us to think on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent. We must recognize the evil in the world that exists because of our sin, but we must also remember that God is good and is still at work all around us. As we look for the lovely, may we love people enough to compassionately point them to Jesus.