When compassion is left-coded

The other day a friend asked how Christians should address the fact that, in the modern world, compassion is regarded as a characteristic of progressives, not conservatives. That is, in the popular imagination, compassion and care are “left-coded”—that is, these virtues are ostensibly given greater priority among liberals and progressives. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has argued that liberals tend to prioritize moral foundations of care over other foundations like authority, order, and loyalty.

Now of course many conservatives recognize that what progressives call “compassion” isn’t really biblical compassion. But the reputation and perception still remains.

My friend was thinking of this problem in terms of evangelism. What do we do when unbelievers feel that they have to give up compassion in order to become (conservative) Christians? As I thought about the question, I began to consider how Jesus addressed a similar problem. In the first century, righteousness and holiness were “Pharisee-coded.” That is, both in the Pharisees self-understanding and in the popular imagination, righteousness and holiness were regarded as Pharisaical priorities.

And yet think of how Jesus approached this problem. He told his followers that, in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, their righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees. He warned his followers about the hypocritical appearance of righteousness among the Pharisees: practicing righteousness to be seen by others, standing in the streets to show off their deeds in the ancient equivalent of virtue signaling. Indeed, the entire Sermon on the Mount might be seen as Christ’s attempt to re-orient the meaning of righteousness among Jews in the first century.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus refused to grant that the Pharisees were truly righteous. While at times he acknowledged that they taught some true things, far more often he drew attention to their false understanding of righteousness—they demonstrated massively misplaced priorities, straining gnats and swallowing camels; they cleaned the outside of the cup but left the inside untouched; they neglected the weightier matters of the law while excelling in relative trivialities.

Again and again, Christ insists that for all of their talk of righteousness, the Pharisees honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from him. Not only that, but they substituted man-made traditions for the actual commands of God. “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the traditions of men” (Mark 7:8). They rejected the commandment of God to establish their tradition, thus nullifying the word of God (Mark 7:9-13). Empty talk may have garnered them a righteous reputation, but the reality was very different.

Christ’s recalibration of righteousness did not persuade many of the Pharisees. Instead, they accused him of being unrighteous—a drunkard, a glutton, a blasphemer. But that didn’t change the fact that Christ was, in fact, the Righteous One, and God vindicated him as such in raising him from the dead.

So what does this mean for us today? How should conservative Christians address the reputation gap when it comes to compassion?

First, we must actually be compassionate, according to the biblical standards. Kindness, tenderheartedness, bowels of mercy—these must mark us as individuals and communities. Actual data bears out that believers give more to charities than their secular counterparts. As Paul might say, “Do so more and more.”

Second, we must be aware that the devil is a liar and will seek to steer us by our reputation (or lack thereof). Accusing conservative Christians of a lack of compassion is one of the fundamental tools that the devil and his brood of vipers have used to sabotage and mute the church’s witness by demanding that Christians prove their compassion (according to progressive standards). And, unfortunately, Christians have sometimes had heads as soft as their hearts.

Third, like Christ, we must refuse to adopt the framing of the left when it comes to defining compassion. We must tell people, “Unless your compassion exceeds that of the progressives and the liberals, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” “Beware of practicing your compassion before others to be seen by them. Don’t sound the trumpet or stand on the street corner announcing your compassion like the hypocrites. They have received their reward.”

More than that, we must be clear about the left’s failure to be compassionate. Given their false ideology, the people they “help” often end up worse because of the “treatment.” Just look at the breakdown of the family, failing schools, rampant crime and drug use, and the enfeebling dependence on government aid that afflicts communities that that receive progressive “compassion.”

But the evil of progressive compassion goes beyond unintended consequences. In the name of compassion, they castrate children and murder the unborn. In the name of compassion, they celebrate sodomy and other forms of sexual perversion. In the name of compassion, they overwhelm communities with migrants and destroy social trust and cohesion. They outsource compassion to bureaucratic agencies in order to get rich and garner a reputation for mercy and care. But as Elon and D.O.G.E is currently revealing, bureaucratic compassion is essentially a tax-funded money laundering operation for leftist propaganda, the same propaganda responsible for the progressive reputation for compassion and care. Like the Pharisees of old, they have rejected and nullified the word of God for the sake of their so-called “compassion.”

In short, how should Christians deal with left-coded compassion? Be compassionate like Christ. Refuse to be steered by falsehoods. And be ready to puncture the lie of progressive “compassion.”