Working for God's Gloryনমুনা

Compassionate Work

Compassion often gets overlooked in a business world driven by increasing revenues at a lower operating cost.

Workers are rewarded for profits versus how well they care for others. Compassion in the workplace is seldom celebrated, and caring for others can even be seen as a weakness.

It is a cutthroat world, and many men are in it for themselves.

People-to-people relationships are taken for granted and seldom celebrated. People are merely a means to an end, and you are valuable only if you add to the bottom line.

And it’s not only leadership who’s to blame. We can all fall into the same trap of focusing on goals or objectives, personal rewards, or promotions over the needs of our colleagues.

My favorite Biblical story of compassion is the story of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 1-4). Ruth was a foreigner in a culture where people were not compassionate to widows. To stay off the streets, you had to marry either your deceased husband’s brother (if alive and old enough) or another male caregiver in the family.

The problem for Ruth was that her husband’s only brother was dead, and the family caregiver did not want to marry her. Boaz stepped in and allowed Ruth to pick up corn from his field to ensure she could feed her mother-in-law and herself. He protected her from harm during the harvest. And when the family caregiver refused to marry her, Boaz took Ruth as his wife. Ruth became pregnant, and Jesus descended from this child’s bloodline (Matthew 1:1-16).

Boaz’s compassion for Ruth motivated him to act rightly in his work and his care for her.

Jesus felt compassion for people. The Bible states that when He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36).

If we take a moment to reflect and relate to our coworkers compassionately, God will allow us to make a difference in their lives and perhaps even share the Gospel.

Prayer: Father, help us see our coworkers as Your image-bearers and be more compassionate toward everyone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reflection: Is there a brother in your office or workplace who needs help or someone to be his friend?