Is Empathy a lost art?
My first experience with young people’s lack of empathy was after a young girl in our community committed suicide. I was heart sick for her, for her family, for her friends.
A handful of students expressed quite vehemently that it wasn’t their problem, they had no sympathy, and even one said “good riddance.”
The thought still brings tears to my eyes.
There’s been a shift from empathy to … self-preservation? selfishness? apathy? I’m not sure what to call it. But so many people have stopped asking, “How can I help?” and begun asking, “Why should I care?”
The Problem
How have we fallen so far?
I know. I’ve read the book. A four letter word that seeps into all aspects of our world. A heart condition that can be traced back through our DNA to our first ancestors.
But that also bears the question: do we have to be this way?
We have a choice.
We have freewill.
There is a better way.
We can do something about it.
There are many passages in the Bible that speak to putting others first, loving others, and emulating our Lord. Here are a few key passages that spoke to me today about empathy:
Let each of you look not only to his own interests,
but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4, ESV)
Therefore, we choose not to be selfish.
No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
(1 Corinthians 10:24, NIV)
Additionally, we choose to care for others
Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. (1 Peter 3:8, Message)
Resulting in empathy.
Empathy does not need to be a quality of the past. Each of us has the ability–even the responsibility–to see beyond ourselves and consider the needs of others. We do not have to be the problem in a me-centered world.
What do you think of empathy? Is there no room for empathy in modern culture?
Here’s the article I read this morning that got me thinking about these things: The End of Empathy.
