Is there ever a time not to show compassion? The answer must come quickly and be a loud, resounding "NO!" Compassion is always in order. But the more important question is "What is compassion?" For some, compassion = charity or benevolence (i.e., a "handout"). For many Christians giving a few cents or even dollars to someone begging is relatively easy and certainly seems more compassionate than not giving anything. Giving a small amount out of one's abundance is usually seen in our culture, even among Christians, as a huge act of compassion. It is certainly charity. It can even make the giver feel pretty good about him/herself.

But charity is insufficient and not the full biblical response of faith. God is a God of justice, not mere charity. God wants His people to be about justice -- being concerned with making things right in this world. Compassion is about justice, not mere charity. What does this mean? It means that our time, energy, money and other resources should be used not to give a few coins to someone on the street, but attack root causes of poverty, homelessness, poor education and other societal ills. We can even multiply our good efforts by giving to agencies that provide more direct services to those who are truly poor.

From a biblical standpoint, the Old Testament prophets were very clear about God's passion for justice. The Scripture references are numerous, such as Isaiah 58 (especially verses 4-8) and famously quoted Amos 5:21-24 and Micah 6:6-8. Religious ritual, which would include giving alms, was insufficient; justice was what God demanded.

In the New Testament we are also given several examples that can guide us in our giving. Remember the widow and her 2 mites (Mark 12:41-44)? Jesus made the point that others gave out of their abundance, while this woman gave sacrificially. Truly compassionate given involves a sacrifice, not the leftover coins that could easily fall out of pockets anyway. Also, Matthew 23:23 contains an indictment by Jesus directed toward religious hypocrites who zealously tithed but neglected mercy and justice - more important matters according to Jesus!

Another New Testament example involves the apostles Peter and John in Acts 3:1-11. A needy man on the street begged them for money. Remember how the apostles responded? Peter said, "I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk" (Acts 3:6). It would have been charitable to give the man a loaf of bread or a few coins. But it was compassionate justice that provided what he really needed: good health!

You might be thinking: But I can't go around healing people like those apostles did. Perhaps not, but the point would be giving our time and energy to help get at the root cause. That man begging in Acts 3 needed more than coins and many people in our city have such severe issues that a few cents could never meet their needs. It is certainly compassionate to speak a kind word to the beggar, or give a turkey at Thanksgiving but it is even more compassionate - indeed just! - to work to help keep people from having to beg or go hungry in the first place. Dennis R. Edwards, Ph.D., Senior Pastor, Peace Fellowship, Washington, DC.

What is the relationship between compassion and justice?
Posted by Amy L. Sherman

In His inaugural address in Luke 4: 16-21, Jesus outlines His threefold mission on earth. He's come to preach good news, to restore sight to the blind, and to set free the oppressed. We could label these three activities "evangelism," "compassion ministry," and "justice mission." When we do, we ought to hear an echo of Micah 6:8 -God's call on each of His followers to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." That verse helpfully sums up the heart of Christian discipleship. Followers of Jesus need to imitate His threefold mission. Any one of the three, by itself, is insufficient.

Evangelicals have been good for a long time at evangelism. And when we consider the many Evangelically rooted ministries focused on meeting people's practical needs-World Vision, Food for the Hungry, Compassion International, Joni and Friends, Voice of the Martyrs, the Christian Community Development Association, World Relief, and dozens more-that have sprung up in the past 50 years or so, it looks like we'd get decent marks on compassion ministry, too. But what about justice missions? Here there is room for growth.

Someone once said that compassion ministry is fishing drowning people out of the river, and justice ministry is going upstream to figure out how they got into the river in the first place--and trying to fix that.

One important reason why some end up in the river is that they are pushed in on purpose. And with this we confront a kind of injustice Evangelicals are not adequately addressing. That hypothetical person in the water represents a victim of injustice-an injustice committed with intentional violence by someone abusing his/her power. That is the kind of injustice that International Justice Mission, the leading Evangelical group active in "justice mission," addresses. IJM literally rescues children from forced bonded labor, girls from brothels, and adults from illegal detention. And then they prosecute the offenders, in order to strengthen the public justice system. If enough bad guys get punished consistently for pushing the vulnerable into the river, then they may stop their aggression. That's justice mission-and it is a kind of ministry that the Church must increasingly adopt.

This kind of work can be more difficult than compassion ministry. For one thing, it means entering the most dark, scary, dangerous corners of our world. For another, it means embracing the often unfamiliar and uncomfortable Biblical truths about God's hatred of injustice and the need to hold perpetrators accountable as part of the scriptural mandate to "do justice." But most uniquely, it means actually having to fight against very real people who are committed to continuing the abuses. Justice mission of this sort is characterized by the presence of violence. Compassion ministry can be dangerous (think of those ministering at night in a crime-ridden urban ghetto) but it isn't always. By contrast with some of the justice scriptures, the Biblical texts calling us to compassion are familiar: love your neighbor, share your bread with the hungry, be like God and show mercy. We are comfortable with a God who tells us to be kind to others; less so with One who castigates wickedness. And usually, no one actually violently opposes us when we go to demonstrate compassion to someone in need. You probably did not get beat up by someone the last time you helped a blind person to cross the street, gave a bagel to a homeless guy, taught an ESL class, or tutored an at-risk kid. Typically we don't have to "fight" for compassion the way we have to fight for justice.

Compassion, of course, is always part and parcel of justice. Our compassion for the victim motivates our engagement. And even perpetrator accountability is an expression of compassion. It is strong version of "tough love." It's instituted not only to protect future victims from the perpetrator's attacks, but also to turn the bad guy away from his sins, with the hope that true repentance will come, bringing with it the possibility of new life.

The Biblical call to justice is clear, and that's reason enough to embrace it. But interestingly, our very commitment to compassion ministry may also propel us into justice mission. Perhaps you sponsor a child in India-maybe even through Compassion International. Your $30 month is helping her to stay in school, get medical care, and hear Bible stories. But if the public justice system in her village is so broken that she is put into bonded slavery for a debt her parents incur, or if an unscrupulous sex trafficker kidnaps her and forces her into a Mumbai brothel, your compassion ministry becomes irrelevant. At this point, she doesn't need your child sponsorship dollars and friendly cards-as lovely as those things are. She needs to be rescued. Justice mission is a vital and irreducible part of the compassion ministry called poverty alleviation. Through compassion, we can help the widow to earn income through micro-enterprise, or the farmer to increase his crop yields through irrigation, or the peasant child to get an education. But if the bullies can then take away these things with impunity-stealing the widow's lands, tossing the farmer in jail without cause, or sex trafficking the little girl-all the while bribing police to insulate themselves against prosecution, then our accomplishments disappear.

The unfortunate truth is that these very situations occur daily worldwide. So, Evangelicals must not settle for two cheers for their efforts in following Jesus' threefold mandate. It's time for more vigorous involvement in justice mission.

Dr. Amy L. Sherman directs the Center on Faith in Communities at the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, and serves as Senior Fellow for the International Justice Mission.

Are There Societal Or Personal Barriers To Cultivating Expressions Of Compassion Towards The Poor, And If So What Are They? - John Hasler
When it comes to compassion towards the poor, there are many things that seem to get in the way. There is of course the normal laundry list of excuses like, not having enough time, not knowing where to begin, seeing the problem as too large to fix, and on and on it goes. But are there some deeper underlying reasons behind these excuses? I believe so. In order to keep the scope of this fairly narrow, I want to primarily focus on the action (or inaction) of Christians.
One of the first things to investigate is impetus or core motivation for action. This is the 'why should I care?' issue, which leads us to the first barrier; that of calling. Often when it comes to service to the poor, individuals claim that they do not feel called to serve the poor, and while I believe there are indeed certain people called to a higher and deeper level of care and attention to specific kinds of needs, all followers of Jesus are already called to some degree. There is a clear mandate in the whole of Scripture to show concern for the poor. If one looks at a broad picture of Jesus' life, it can be clearly seen that he demonstrated great care for the poor and downtrodden. Followers and disciples are then to do the same.
If then, there is a calling on all believers, what is it that gets in the way from the church really rising up to make headway against poverty and injustice? Where are the other barriers? There are some answers in Scripture that talk about the battle Christians will face when it comes to obedience in any area of life, including a life of service to the poor. There are greater spiritual reasons behind this, like what Paul talks about in Ephesians 6:12-
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
There are also more personal, inner, battles with sin and the desires of the flesh, as the New Testament writers refer to it, which are constantly warring against the leading of the Holy Spirit. Paul again, talks about this struggle very acutely in Romans 7:14-25. Specifically in verses 18 and 19, he discusses the tension-
"For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.*"
In a greater discussion about the law, he unveils the difficulty individuals have in doing what they know is right. I think that this is one of the best examples of the barrier that is created in the spirit when it comes to serving the poor. It is the surrender to the flesh that allows for pride and greed to settle in and take root. And it is out of those two embedded attributes that Christians begin to create superficial excuses for inaction. The most difficult part is the fact that most believers will indeed profess with their mouths the willingness and desire to help, however, when it comes to the reprioritization of time and money, many of these great aspirations are grounded and snuffed out.
There is hope in breaking down these barriers though. In the cultivation of humility and deeper Holy Spirit driven character development, Christians can overcome the battles in the spirit and begin to see and react to the poor around them. Humility and discipline can overturn pride and greed. In Galatians 5:16-17, Paul encourages the people to follow the Spirit instead of the flesh-
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.*"
This is not just a onetime event. It is an attitude and practice of the heart that needs to be nurtured and continually revisited. There is a level of perseverance that is generated. In 2 Thessalonians 3:13, as an encouragement to the church there, it says-
"As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.*"
What would the world look like if the church today took that same encouragement and lived it out?
*All Scripture references are ESV

Join us for a weekly conversation on the relationship between compassion, justice, poverty and community transformation. Tune in to what people like Dr. Amy Sherman, Ex. Dir. of the Center on Faith in Communities have to say about the Relationship between Compassion and Justice;Mark Earley, President and CEO of Prison Fellowship, founded by Chuck Colson, on How to Cultivate a Compassionate Heart;John Hasler, Associate Pastor of the Theater Church on Societal Barriers to Expressions of Compassion and many more!Send us a tweet on Twitter or follow us on FaceSbook. Never before in our current lifetime have so many needed compassion in all of its various forms. Share your thoughts, ideas, and make a difference right now in some one's life. It begins with compassion.