Devotions: Heart-felt Compassion

But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Matthew 12:7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

This shows the other side of compassion. Some think that to do what is right is enough, that emotions are unnecessary or even bad, but we need both action and feeling. Some only feel and do nothing, but the Pharisees were guilty of the opposite. They did all the right things, but they had no compassion, no feeling, no love. And God rejected their actions and sacrifices. God wants us to love, which is mostly action, but compassion requires the feeling side too. To see another’s need and help without feeling compassion is heartless, and to be honest it won’t mean much to that person or to God because they can tell it isn’t from the heart. It can even be offensive. God is not heartless and He doesn’t want us to be either. To have compassion is to feel. The reason the Pharisees accused Jesus of sinning is because they looked at actions only, not at the meaning of the law or the heart of God. The Law was meant to honor God, and God wants us to love. Strict adherence to the Law without loving God or others is meaningless, legalistic. The phrase to “desire compassion not sacrifice” is at the heart of the law. It is all about loving God and serving Him out of love not duty. In the same way, helping others without love, without feeling compassion, is as dry and meaningless as serving God without love. No one wants heartless duty, not even God. Ask God to reveal to you His love, how to serve and obey Him out of love, and how to serve others out of a heart of compassion rather than duty or compulsion.

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