Dialogue on "The Tragedy of American Compassion" PART 9

All two of you who have been following this dialogue (maybe more of a monologue), the book is making a shift.....enough critique now time to layout some practical thoughts for moving forward.

The next couple blog posts will go through the Seven Marks of Compassion two or three at a time.  The author lists the seven qualities as:

1. Affiliation
2. Bonding
3. Categorization
4. Discernment
5. Employment
6. Freedom
7. God

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 Just glancing at that list...if you are involved in compassionate outreach ministries...causes you to think....really?

The first two we get if we have experienced neighborhood engagement.

Affiliation:

"The prime goal of relief, all agreed, was not material disctribution but affiliation."

For some this may not mean much...but I have seen it on the faces of young teens and elderly addicts....the shine on their face when they start to feel as though they belong.  They feel that way when you simply listen to them.  And why is this significant...because this is the story of God.  He created man to belong (to walk with Him)...and man turned his back on Him....and throughout the ages man has become more and more isolated.  The more alone man becomes the less he belongs...which is a deep down desire in all people.

So by expressing compassion as a form of drawing people into affiliation...we are opening their heart to the real God designed purpose they have.  There the doors are open for the greater truths.

Bonding:

"Charity volunteers a century ago usually were not assigned to paper pushing or mass food dispensing tasks, but were given the opportunity to make a large difference in several lives over several years."

This point is incredibly important.  The expression of compassion is as significant for the servant as the one being served.  Bonding in the context of compassion provides a platform upon which true faith can be grown.  When I sit down to work with an addict....I have no idea what they are going through....I don't know what I'm going to say to him when he fails again...I don't know what scripture says about how much grace to have for the alcoholic....but I do know that in that time of bonding with him....God is being trusted more than any other time in my life...and God is bigger than my uncertanties.  

Bonding is significant to compassion because it requires a certain level of equality...I can't bond with the person I'm trying to serve...if I'm not willing to get down and sit with them...and once I do...a whole new world is opened to both servant and recipient.