What is luxury?
Course – Week 5 – Compassion
Being compassionate is a genuine outcome for any Christian who follows Christ’s example and tries to model their life on him.
A colleague from India shared a story about how he learnt about compassion from his experiences at home:
I still remember the generosity of my parents back home in India. Whenever my dad brought the salary home he would hand it to my mum. My mum would say a prayer and take 500 rupees out of the 5000 rupees. That went straight into the offering box. This offering was then used for any poor who knock on the door for food – we got about a dozen everyday.
My parents who never had any holidays, or had much fun or luxury in their lives, were compassionate towards their children by offering as much as they can, even if it meant giving up on their own comforts. My parents imparted a great example to me, which we have all inherited through the teaching of Jesus.
Jesus was moved with compassion, supporting the people of all backgrounds in their various needs and spending time with them, eating with them, and crying with them. He also bore their pain – even to the extent of severe suffering and death for us. Christians are called to be compassionate towards others, not just our family, but all of those around us and around the world.
Dalai Lama XIV said:
‘Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive’
Does our concept of what ‘luxury’ is affect our practice of compassion?
