Compassion

The meaning of "compassion" is to recognize the suffering of others and then take action to help.

Compassion literally means "to suffer together."

So what does it mean to "have" compassion? The component of action is what separates compassion from empathy, sympathy, pity, concern, condolence, sensitivity or tenderness.

"Compassion" gets involved when others keep their distance from those who are suffering,

Author Fredrick Buechner describes what it means to have compassion in this way:

"Compassion is sometimes that fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too."

The Bible defines compassion by showing us what compassion looks like and what is involved with being compassionate.

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 432 NIV

So how does compassion relate in today crisis?

Even as this disease spreads from country to country, infecting people and taking lives, it is also robbing countless other their peace of mind, livelihood and humanity.

Immanual Joseph, a compassion teacher at Compassion Leaders states:

We are, as a species, suckers for the sensational. This is why over-the-top zombie movies become blockbusters and school shooter become media favorites. Which is also why we take-in- the news of bad situations and manufacture an even scarier reality in our minds.

The addendum to this is that, as in other situations of uncertainty, facts get twisted, hope gets squashed and we end up creating needless suffering. Most of the suffering is manufactured inside our