Are compassion, conservatism compatible?

Thursday, September 21, 2000

By GREGORY J. RUMMO
Special to The Record

Compassion has been a hot topic lately, thanks to George W. Bush's emphasis on "compassionate conservatism."

Regardless of political persuasion, we can all agree that compassion is a necessary element of civilized society. There never seems to be enough of it to go around, and all of us should work harder to exhibit more of it.

But reasonable people disagree on this: Is the display of compassion the responsibility of government or of the individual? Can government programs change the conditions in the human heart that foster racism or lead to the destructive behaviors that send people to skid row or force families on to the welfare rolls?

Conservatives believe that government is not the answer. Solutions to social problems that vex America lie within the individual. The preservation of the traditional family is the key, they maintain. Its breakdown has been the single largest cause of societal ills such as racism, poverty, substance abuse, and violence. Only the individual -- moved with compassion and working along with faith-based organizations -- can offer true hope to those who are struggling.

The Bush campaign has argued the problems of society are problems stemming from the heart. Bush said, "People must reclaim their communities block by block and heart by heart. Government cannot do this work. It can feed the body, but it cannot reach the soul."

Liberals, on the other hand, believe that they are truly compassionate and that it is the government's proper role to change the human heart through programs such as welfare, affirmative action, and hate-crimes legislation.

Well, which approach is right? And to whom do we go for the answer?

For the Christian, the obvious model is Jesus Christ, whose life exuded compassion. Numerous Gospel accounts demonstrate his love and care for the individuals and crowds he encountered during his three-year ministry.

In one such case recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, a crowd has been following Jesus for days to hear his teaching and witness his miracles. (Similar stories appear in the other Gospels as well.) Their food runs out, and they are hungry.

Sensing their condition, Jesus says: "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way" (Matthew 15:32).

Jesus' compassion compels him to action. He performed a miracle, feeding several thousand men, women, and children from a few loaves of bread and some small fish. He did not criticize Rome for failing to stave off the hunger of the lower classes. Rather, Jesus took it upon himself, as an individual, to involve himself intimately in the lives of the less fortunate.

So what was Jesus' attitude toward the Roman authorities? When asked whether people should pay taxes, he replied: "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God" (Matthew 22:21).

But Jesus did not come to earth solely to care for people's physical needs. He spoke to their greatest need -- the need for a change in the human heart. He taught his followers that they are morally accountable to God, both a God of love and a God of judgment.

Old Testament Mosaic Law simply commanded that all people work: "For six days you may do your work, but on the seventh day you must rest" (Exodus 23:12).

There was provision made for the poor in the command given to farmers to let the needy glean what was left over in their fields. "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you glean the stray ears of grain. These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien" (Leviticus 23:22).

This was no government handout of grain. The poor had to be willing to feed themselves by working in the fields. Paul the apostle echoed this sentiment: "In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

In "Renewing American Compassion," Marvin Olasky writes about the bloated government expansion created during the 20th century. "We know now the vision, even if noble to start with, was founded on tragic miscomprehension. Private charities had succeeded in helping many individuals because they offered compassion that was challenging, personal, and spiritually based. Government over time proved itself incapable of doing the same; instead, governmental charity emphasized entitlement rather than challenge, bureaucracy rather than personal help, and a reduction of man to material being only."

When we reject the idea that it is government's duty to feed and clothe the poor, we cannot be callous or indifferent. Olasky cites several passages from the Old Testament that prohibit hard-heartedness and encourage generosity toward the poor (Deuteronomy 15), that call for the defense of the weak and the fatherless (Psalm 82:3), and that command that mercy be shown (Isaiah 1:17).

Bush himself has stated: "Big government is not the answer, but the alternative to bureaucracy is not indifference."

What then is to be our response? Become engaged. Volunteer to help out in a soup kitchen or a rescue mission. Volunteer to teach a Sunday school class or work in the nursery or sing in the choir at your church. Become involved with someone personally. Do you know any widows in your neighborhood? Find one and cook her a meal or take her shopping or pick her up every Sunday and bring her to church with your family.

These small actions may not seem like much. But if everyone who could do something would do one thing, we would see hearts changed across this country. My former pastor, the Rev. Dr. Clarence Sexton of Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Paterson, often told his congregants: "Compassion is having their hurt in our hearts."

We should recall what Paul said to the church in Corinth. "If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:1-2).

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Gregory Rummo is a business executive who belongs to Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Paterson, where he also serves as choir director. You may e-mail him at GregoryJRummo@aol.com

You can e-mail his editor, Lisa Haddock at Haddock@northjersey.com
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