Nowadays, we hear the word “empathy” everywhere. It appears in hashtags, motivational quotes, and social media captions filled with heart emojis. It has become one of those words that everyone likes to use and yet, the more it’s used, the less it seems to mean.
Empathy sounds lovely. It feels safe, positive and polite. But too often, it’s spoken more than it’s shown. Online, empathy has become a performance, a way to appear caring without ever getting close to the people who are actually hurting.
In Luke 10:30–37, Jesus tells the story of a man beaten and left half dead on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. A priest saw him and walked by. A Levite did the same. Both recognised his pain, but neither stopped.
Then came a Samaritan, someone looked down upon by society. He did not just feel sorry for the man, he did something. He treated his wounds, lifted him onto his donkey, took him to an inn, and paid for his care.
That is empathy in action. It’s not about feeling bad from a distance, but about getting close enough to help.
The Bible goes even further than empathy, it calls us to have compassion. Empathy might make you feel something; compassion makes you do something.
The question is not, “Did I show empathy today?” but, “What did I do today for someone in need?”
The world doesn’t need more people who are all talk. It needs people who take action, who show up, listen, and offer help. It’s about supporting those who are struggling, visiting the sick, comforting the grieving, and bringing the hope of our Lord Jesus to those who feel forgotten.
Join us every Saturday at 10am for the Battalion meeting at your local Universal Church. Together, we go out to help those in need and share the good news of the Gospel. Why not come along and put empathy into action?
Event: Battalion meeting
Day and time: Every Saturday at 10am
Location: Your local Universal Church
