“Attitude is everything!” You’ve heard it said, maybe even said it yourself, but have you grasped the power of its truth? Our attitudes shape our perception of the present and our feelings about the future. They will chart our destiny and have the potential to affect multitudes of people within our sphere of influence.

Popular Christian author and speaker Chuck Swindoll, writing on attitude said, “Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home.”

There are many things that we cannot control or change, but we have all the power in the world to choose our attitudes. We can decide how we will use the experiences, resources and opportunities that are before us. We can act from the mind of Christ, or we can be out of our right mind.

One of the key characteristics of Jesus’ attitude was a deep commitment to an attitude of compassion. Repeatedly, we find the Scripture affirming this attitude of God’s heart. Consider the following:

• “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.” (Mark 1:41)
• When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them.” (Mark 6:34)
• “Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes” (Matt. 20:34)
• “I have compassion for these people” (Mark 8:2)

In a world of debate and conflict, it is easy to become judgmental and harsh, and often that is exactly how Christians are perceived because… well… because that is how we act. We lose sight of the line that separates, “speaking the truth in love,” and self-righteous judgment.

Jesus loved people and had compassion on them. He still does, and if anyone had the right and position to offer harsh judgment, it is the perfect Son of God, yet he demonstrates the heart of compassion even toward those who persecute him.

We are not called to agree with everything or to approve of every behavior, but we are meant to be people who can be concerned about important issues while living out of the compassion of Christ. We are recipients of that compassion in our own lives and should seek to sow it into the lives of others. Compassion is an attitude worth being passionate about.