A recent CNN article highlighted that what many voters appreciated the most in Joe Biden as a presidential candidate was his empathy. Indeed, when several political leaders and past opponents endorsed Biden for president, they named empathy as a trait that they supported. These included Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar, among others. And Daryl Cameron, an ethicist with Penn State University, declared that “People want empathic leaders, because this can signal moral character, and such leaders may be better able to understand and serve their communities.”
Empathy
So, what is empathy? Why does this matter? According to Britannica, empathy is “the ability to imagine oneself in another’s place and understand the other’s feelings, desires, ideas, and actions.” For Joe Biden, this hinges primarily on the tragic loss of his wife and daughter in a car accident and of his son Beau to brain cancer. Because he faced such tragedies and came through, he connects with voters who have suffered similarly and makes them feel understood.
It isn’t really necessary to research empathy; most of us know what it feels like. We know that we want it, that it makes us feel safe and loved, that we try to emulate it ourselves. What I have to say has more to do with why we need it (or don’t) and how we see it played out in Jesus, the greatest leader of all.
Empathy vs. Compassion
Britannica defines compassion as “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.” It is immediately clear that these two words are different. Empathy is feeling another’s pain; compassion is understanding it and trying (or at least wanting) to change it.
In the book of Exodus, God describes himself as “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,” (Exodus 34:6). Nehemiah described him as “a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Nehemiah 9:17). When a crowd interrupted Jesus’ mourning after the death of his cousin, Mark wrote that “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things” (Mark 6:34). A simple search for the word compassion in the Bible turns up 82 results. A search for empathy finds nothing.
What does this mean? I don’t think it means that empathy is wrong. I do think it means that God does not describe himself as empathetic for a good reason. In the Old Testament, God’s compassion is unique–the word is used only to describe him. In the New Testament, the Greek word for compassion indicates more that someone (usually Jesus) is moved with compassion. And God doesn’t just sit around and feel for people. He does something about it.
God’s Compassion
Let us think for a moment of the compassion of God. How does he manifest it in the world? There are many ways. He chose the Israelites and saved them out of Egypt to be the people that would bring forth his Son. He saved them multiple times from their own sin and other countries holding them captive. Using His servants, he wrote the Bible for the Israelites and for us today. He sends the rain to water the earth–whether it blesses good or evil men. Most of all, he sent Jesus.
The gift of Christ is the ultimate form of compassion and empathy. God is not confined by our definitions. He felt the compassion that led him to action, but he also chose to identify with our feelings. And he did it all through Jesus. Instead of just imagining himself in our place, he actually came and took our place. He took empathy to the next level by doing what no human can do and living our experiences with us.
This is the miracle of the cross. It is easy to forget that God’s glory was revealed most completely on the cross. When Jesus prayed just hours before His crucifixion, He declared it: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son as the son has glorified you” (John 17:1). His glory was in choosing to become our sin and die for it. It was showing the glory of God by revealing his unconditional love and mercy. Jesus didn’t have to die; God didn’t have to let him. But in that we see the glory of mercy and compassion in untold measure.
What it Means
The one thing that distinguishes Christ from all other gods is this ultimate sacrifice. No one else dared to do such a thing as suffer in the place of the people who would reject him as well as those who would accept and consistently disobey him. But He did it because he is truly love.
We can look to our leaders for empathy. Perhaps we’ll find it; perhaps they will imagine that they are in our place and try to make policy that reflects that. But, ultimately, that’s not what we need.
Our suffering will never end. As long as we live on this earth, we are going to face pain consistently. Our one comfort will not be found in people trying and failing to make it better for us. Instead, we must find our comfort in the one who chose to feel it with us. All that we experience is felt by our God, the one who suffered the penalty of our sin. That is the answer to our desire for empathy: not someone who imagines they understand, but someone who is with us the entire time. Someone who promises that we are not alone and we never will be.