Have you noticed that compassion seems to be in short supply these days?

I’m not sure how people became so hardened, but we see evidence of it everywhere.

So today, I’m calling for more compassion. After all, it IS the season. I’m not sure how we can make this happen. But we must.

Compassion can be our truest guide, if we let it.

It offers us the choice to see one another as human, in all our flaws and struggles.

Here’s an example: When I see people ranting about unhoused people living on the street, I wonder, how can they not see the humanity in this kind of downfall? Do they not see that there, but for the grace of God, go any of us?

When we look at people in difficult situations as “the other,” we dehumanize them. When we institute policies on that basis it becomes a hardened world.

I am especially horrified at those who call themselves “Christian” ….

….but seem to not understand that it means following the tenets modeled by Jesus Christ. They extend their compassion only to those who believe as they do. If they extend any at all.

It’s tempting to close off when the world feels harsh. To protect ourselves by judging, by shutting down, by meeting hurt with more hurt. I know that I do that.

But compassion invites us to take a different path.

To pause. To remember that everyone carries invisible burdens, and that what looks like anger or indifference often hides pain. Or fear.

When compassion leads, we respond with presence instead of reaction. We listen more carefully. We offer grace in places where it would be easier to offer blame. We learn that forgiveness isn’t weakness—it’s strength. Compassion doesn’t excuse harm, but it does stop us from multiplying it.

And the more we allow compassion to guide us, the more spacious our hearts become. We find that love grows, resilience deepens, and the distance between us shortens.

The world needs this more than ever. If we let compassion be the light we carry, we’ll not only ease the lives of others—we’ll also ease our own.

I’m talking to people on the other side, for sure. But I’m also talking to the rest of us. I am trying to learn to see those who operate out of ignorance and fear with more compassion. Now look–I’m not going to give grace to people who want to harm others. Who are cold and unfeeling. Nor will I keep company with them.

But I can try to see them with more compassion, even as I am acting to keep what’s left of kindness and love in our political policies.