The Cost of Compassion

By Tim Costello

Re:CONSIDERING invites you to look at what’s familiar from an unfamiliar angle. To consider how we consider things – and how to do it better.

Who’s in favour of compassion?
Pretty much everybody, actually. Left or right, religious or not, nobody seems to have a bad word to say about compassion.
So why do we have so much trouble addressing the conflict, inequality, and suffering in our world?
Ranging from the streets of St Kilda to the slums of Delhi, from Plato to Nietzsche, the Dalai Lama to Peter Singer, and from Seinfeld to the Good Samaritan, Tim Costello appeals to our common humanity – and takes an unflinching look at how costly compassion can be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Acorn Press
• Release date: Aug 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9780647530948

Tim Costello

Tim Costello AO is a well-known social justice advocate. He is a Baptist minister, former CEO of World Vision Australia, and currently a Senior Fellow for CPX and Executive Director of Micah Australia.

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Published by Acorn Press, an imprint of Bible Society Australia, in partnership with the Centre for Public Christianity.

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© Centre for Public Christianity, 2020. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-647-53093-1 (pbk)

ISBN 978-0-647-53094-8 (ebk)

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, no part of this work may be reproduced by electronic or other means without the permission of the publisher.

Tim Costello asserts his right under section 193 of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) to be identified as the author of this work.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

Editor: Kristin Argall

Cover and text design: John Healy

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In sceptical and polarised times, the Centre for Public Christianity (CPX) seeks to engage the public with a clear, balanced, and surprising picture of the Christian faith. A not-for-profit media company, since 2007 CPX has been joining the dots between contemporary culture and the enduring story of Jesus in the articles, podcasts, books, documentaries, and other resources we produce.

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About the author

Tim Costello AO is a well known social justice advocate. He is a Baptist minister, former CEO of World Vision Australia, and currently a Senior Fellow for CPX and Executive Director of Micah Australia.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION: IT’S COMPLICATED

Not so fast

A compassionate life?

1. IS IT NATURAL?

Laughing at ourselves

The great reversal

2. IS IT PRACTICAL?

Keeping social distance

Suffering with

Compassion fatigue

3. IS IT NECESSARY?

The pursuit of happiness

Competitive compassion

4. IS IT POSSIBLE?

What you believe matters

Theory vs practice

Us vs them

5. WHO IS COMPASSION FOR?

The Good Samaritan

Beyond the pale

CONCLUSION: BEING HUMAN

NOTES

INTRODUCTION: IT’S COMPLICATED

Who is in favour of compassion? Okay, I see a lot of hands. Presumably all the bleeding hearts and soft heads.

Let’s test that with another question. Who is against compassion? Gosh. That number wouldn’t even fill a telephone box.

Where are the hard-headed true believers in the market? The staunch defenders of merit and hard work? Okay, there you are – but you’re still unequivocally for compassion. Oh yes, I remember US President George W. Bush’s ‘compassionate conservatism’. I shouldn’t reduce this to political affiliation.

So whether right or left, religious or secular, Confucian or Christian, carnivore or vegetarian … it seems we have a consensus: compassion is good.

Well if we all agree on this universal ethic, how hard can it be to overcome our divisions and build a better world? After all, we’re all on the same page here, right?

Not so fast

As a young church minister in St Kilda, I was used to the knock on the door from desperate people. This was well and truly before St Kilda was discovered by the professional inner-city elite; that happened over the next decade. In the mid-1980s, it was a catchment area for runaway kids, drug-addicted teenagers, street working women and their pimps, and de-institutionalised mentally ill and homeless adults.

As a fresh-faced minister, I saw my whole enterprise as motivated by compassion. To me, our small Baptist church was essentially a compassion centre, and the congregation we were building was in the business of helping people.