I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the question: do we want leaders who reflect the values of Jesus or do we want Jesus to reflect the values of current leaders? Now, the answer seems obvious: those of us who say we follow Jesus want—we say we want—leaders of our churches, our state, our nation, society in general—to have the values Jesus has. So we must understand what the values of Jesus are.

They are easy to discover.

Read Luke 4 where he preaches his first sermon in Nazareth and proclaims that he has come to the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed.

Or look at the Beatitudes which begin the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says God blesses the poor, those who mourn, the humble, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, those who work for peace, and so on.

Or consider the Parable of the Last Judgment where he says some will be banished eternally from God’s presence because they did not care for the hungry and thirsty, the aliens, the imprisoned.

And others will live forever with him precisely because they did care for such persons.

So, it is clear from both his teachings and actions that empathy and compassion for those in need are among the highest values of our Lord.

All of this comes to my mind because of comments recently by a national leader who said, “Empathy is for suckers.” He also said, “The fundamental weakness of western civilization is empathy.”

I must ask, because many followers of Jesus trust this man: do we want leaders who reflect the values of Jesus, or do we try to bend Jesus to fit any current leader?

Read the gospels, dear friends. Read Matthew, Mark and Luke. Read what Jesus said. Consider what he did. He consistently demonstrated compassion and empathy, especially for hurting people. And he consistently criticized those who chose economics over empathy, rules over relationships.

As Jesus draws near the close of his Sermon on the Mount he says “Not everyone who calls me Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of our Father in Heaven.”

I encourage you to stand up for compassion. Without empathy and compassion, we are spiritually barren. We are a spiritual desert. And with it, we are at the heart of our Lord’s life and message.

You commanded us to be compassionate as you are. May we choose your way of seeing people. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Herb Sadler.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.