Member-only story
If Empathy Is a Sin, Jesus Was the Worst Offender
The Manufactured Outrage Turning Kindness into Controversy
I once sat in a meeting where a group of Christians was discussing how to serve their local community. Someone mentioned a family in crisis — a single mother struggling to make ends meet. They had lost their housing, and she needed temporary support to get back on her feet.
At first, the response was sympathetic. A few people even suggested practical ways to help.
Then someone asked, “Do we know how she ended up in this situation?”
Silence.
Another voice chimed in, “If we just hand out help without asking questions, aren’t we enabling bad choices? I mean… how do we know she won’t spend the money on booze or something?
And just like that, the conversation shifted. The focus was no longer on helping — it was on whether this woman deserved help.
I watched as the initial instinct of compassion gave way to hesitation, analysis, and quiet judgment. Suddenly, the urgency of her need mattered less than the circumstances that had led her there.
That moment stuck with me. Because if Jesus had operated this way, half the people he ministered to wouldn’t have stood a chance.
