#Challenges of Desensitization: Discovering Compassion
Sunday, February 19, 2017
#cause challenge
Recent major people causes: Thailand Tsunami, Missing Nigerian Girls, ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
- Evidence of a strong correlation between sharing popular ideas and the decline of compassion as a shared cultural value
#study
University of Michigan: comprehensive study of compassion attitudes of students during a 30-year period from 1979-2009.
Results:
- 40% less caring attitude of today’s students verses students in the 1980’s
- Decline was noticeable within the first few years but a sharp drop during the time
- Social media began to take hold as a cultural phenomenon
#conclusion
Social media rises, empathy declines.
- Researchers concluded that a rise in the use of technology likely caused a decline in empathy
#reasons
- Narcissism
- Short attention-span: abandoned popular causes
- Desensitized
- Remote Caring: non-direct personal interaction
#compassion is action: Jesus + compassion + action.
Matthew 14:14, p. 692
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Matthew 20:34, p. 697
“Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”
Compassion
- Greek: splagchnizomi means “to be moved as to one’s bowels”
- Passion from deep inside you
- Ache for another person
#true compassion demands action
- Faith without works is dead (James 2:14-20, p. 855)
- The more I care about myself the less I care about others
- The more I focus on Jesus and truly follow Him the less I care about myself the more I care about others
#compassion will cost
- True compassion has a price; it costs (Luke 10, parable of the Good Samaritan, p. 735)
- Clicking is clean; compassion is messy
#Jesus identifies with those who suffer
Matthew 25:31-46, p. 702; a warning for us.
