Mr. Baker was getting ready to introduce the subject of compassion to his eleventh-grade Bible class during the first week in December after discussing love in November. Compassion is teaching people to help themselves. Compassion is helping people eternally. He read them several articles, one of them from a news magazine about the condition of starving children in Africa and another from a Christian publication on how to help older widows. One of the articles mentioned that relief work in the Third-World countries was not just concerned with giving water, food and drink, but was involved in teaching the people how to dig wells, raise more productive crops, raise their own meat or fish, and improve the quality of their herds.
Compassion is love in action.
In all the biblical examples of compassion, such as the account of The Good Samaritan, there is action. Compassion should be practiced at home and at school by being on the alert for opportunities to help parents, siblings, teachers, and classmates, and not be a burden by having a selfish, rebellious attitude. Compassion should affect or change someone else's life. The class came up with several ideas, such as creating a Christmas basket, but they rejected that idea because it would be feeding people for only one meal or one day, not making much of a difference. Besides, most of the canned food would come from their mothers' kitchens with no sacrifice on the part of the students.