Compassion

I would first of all like to say thank you, for taking that step of faith to be vulnerable and be a servant leader amongst your peers in order to love and nurture the AU community.  I don’t know many of you, but believe me when I say that I hold each of you in high regard. The time, energy, and passion you give do not go unnoticed, even to an alumnus. As student body president, I was amazed at all the things I missed as a student that you do behind the scenes, and even then I’m sure it was only a fracture of the blessing you are to our campus and community.

This past week I was in church when the pastor was discussing compassion of all things. She said that in Greek compassion literally meant, “to turn over your bowels”.  Not quite the image I expected, nor want to think about. It today's terms it kind of means that knotted feeling you get in your stomach when something is on your heart or mind that you just can’t stop being worked up about. What she said next really got me.

“In that time, compassion wasn’t just a feeling. It was a feeling that required action. Compassion is a verb.”

We can all think of those moments when compassion compelled us to act: when we lose a member of our AU family. When someone on our floor or in our classes is struggling with any number of challenges. When we travel around the world to help the sick and needy.

I think at AU we do that kind of compassion really well. However, I recently watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and I was reminded of a great scene. It’s the scene when Neville stands up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione and tries to stop them from sneaking out. This might seem odd, but to me this was an act of compassion. If compassion is the desire to help someone who is in need, sick, a troubling situation, etc. wasn’t Neville doing just that? He recognized the troubling situation, and desired to intervene because he cared deeply for his friends.

As student leaders, it can be really hard to show that kind of compassion to one another. Standing up to one another in compassion, voicing when we think someone is making poor choices, and helping guide them when they are wandering is scary and makes us vulnerable to one another. After all, who are we to tell our friends they are wrong? 

  

For those of you who aren’t familiar, this is the Johari Window. Box #3 is the area I want to draw your attention to. It’s the part we can’t see about ourselves that others do.

My friends, it is our responsibility, our privilege, and compassion compels us to illuminate these areas in the lives of others. When your “bowels turn over” for a friend: speak up in compassion.

Why?  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 states:

‘Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

We are all flawed, prone to error, and sin. Sometimes we just can’t see where. Praise God we have one another to help us up and to walk in fellowship with.  I can say now, looking back, that some of the best moments at AU were when friends, student leaders, professors, and mentors acted out of compassion and illuminated those blind spots in my life. Those moments weren’t always fun or pleasant, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  I hope that you have individuals around you that will do that for you and that you will have the courage to do that for others.

Kevin and the SGA staff, 2011-2012

I hope you know that you are being prayed for daily, and that even in your most stressed out moments, you are part of a compassionate community of student leaders past and present. You are more than welcome to get a hold of me if you would like someone to pray for you specifically, talk about preparing for life after graduation or anything!

Kevin Sheward
SGA President, 2011-2012