The Sovereign Importance of Compassion

The Sovereign Importance of  Compassion

The Golden Rule lies at the heart of all religions. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone followed it! If every person genuinely tried to behave to the rest of humankind with a concern and care for how they would feel. As it says in the Charter for Compassion:

“Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creature, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.” 

 For me, increasingly, the central importance of the Golden Rule is at the heart of my own system of thought and belief, my own theology. Whether we follow the positive imperative of Jesus: “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.”, or the negative imperative of Confucius: “What you do not want done to you, do not do to others”, the message is the same.

The Charter for Compassion invites us to “restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion, to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate, to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures, to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity, to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.”

If we want to make our religion more compassionate, it is we that have to do it - we who have to be the change we want to see in the world. We have to take responsibility for our own traditions. It is no good waiting for "them" to do something - even if "them" is the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, which is a partner organisation of the Charter for Compassion. It is us, the individual congregations, the individual people in those congregations, who need to take responsibility ourselves - to become activists *where we are*. We need to work hard, to think outside the box, to grapple with difficulties. There are no simple blanket solutions.

If we are to embrace the Golden Rule, we need to start here, where we are. Let us ask ourselves the questions

• Have I shown mutual respect and goodwill to my friends and neighbours?
• Have I practiced constructive tolerance and openness towards the sincerely-held beliefs of others?
• Am I doing as I would be done by?
• Am I doing my best to avoid giving pain to others?

 As Unitarians, there are things that we can all do to bring compassion into the heart of our denomination, from the small acts of kindness we do to each other and in the wider world, to supporting social justice issues that promote tolerance, inclusivity, and peace. And supporting them by doing something practical, not just giving a donation and forgetting about it. We can set up engagement groups to discuss Armstrong’s book Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life; we can preach about compassion from the pulpit, and most importantly, we can strive to follow the Golden Rule ourselves, and lead by example. If we can encourage and support our congregations to do the same, I do believe that we could make a real difference to the world we live in, for the better.