Divine Compassion

Could compassion be dangerous? Studies show that pastors, usually known for their compassion, are the most at-risk “white collar” professionals of all categories. Showing compassion can be stressful because compassion is always linked to compassionate, life-changing actions.

 

 It is not surprising that pastors and ministers are generally compassionate people. Makes sense.

But is it possible that pastors might sometimes be the object of compassion rather than a channel of compassion?

A certain pastor describes his own experience. “There I was, standing in a room full of treadmills, stationary bikes with huge fans and people with wires attached to their chests monitored by a group of nurses. I had a fresh scar running down my own chest that was still tender. The nurse who attached the sticky patches to my chest asked what I did for a living.

“I replied, ‘I’m a minister.’

“She smiled and said, ‘We get more ministers in here than any other profession.’”

The nurse then introduced the pastor with the scar down his chest to the other ministers in the room. He himself was in the cardiac rehab room because of a congenital heart defect, which had just been discovered. His colleagues, however,...