Compassion and Contempt

He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Isaiah 53:3

The Hebrew word "despise" means to hold in contempt, disdain, or worthless. It is not necessary to hate someone when we feel contempt for them, but to think lowly of them. Basically, it means seeing another person as worthless or unworthy.

“Familiarity breeds contempt”, is a common phrase in marriage, families, workplaces, and ministries. Contempt occurs when people lose esteem for one another. When children lose respect for their parents, wives despise their husbands, coworkers belittle each other, the spirit of contempt slowly creeps in, destroying relationships.  Contempt is rooted in lack of compassion and focusing on one's weaknesses. 

When I think of the most contemptuous moment, it is Jesus' suffering and His crucifiction. In particular, Jesus had been beaten to unrecognizable. He was mocked and scorned for His weakness, yet some people followed Him and some women lamented his suffering, showing compassion. 

Compassion is the opposite of contempt; compassion means to show mercy, to love one another, regardless of one's weakness, with concern for another person's hurt or distress. Compassion is one of God's characters, because God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. Psalm 103:8 Through God's compassion and mercy towards us, Jesus took our contempt and rejection, and we are now able to be restored to honor and acceptance.

As God's children, let us reflect His character on one another by being tenderhearted and compassionate. Nurturing compassion allows us to see others' values regardless of human’s frailty through God's eyes and we will be able to expel the spirit of contempt. 

Blessing prayer: Thank you for being compassionate towards us and removing contempt and scorn, so that we can love one another in compassion. In Jesus' name, Amen