Compassion is a deep awareness of and sympathy for another’s suffering, the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others, and wanting to do something about it. Compassion is a caring virtue, compassion is love that wants to meet the needs of others. Compassion encompasses kindness, mercy, grace, understanding, clemency, and forgiveness. Compassion realizes that people make mistakes, people suffer, and people need compassionate acts in all kinds of relationships. Can you think of a time when someone has showed you some love by way of compassion?
Compassion, it seems, is an attribute that many people and businesses have left out by the curb. At a time of economic uncertainty and distress, many businesses continue with the same cruelty and greed that sank America’s economic foundation. Instead of tenderness, understanding, and compassion, mercy has been forsaken by way of penalty afflictions. The old way of thinking continues, and many businesses just keep on doing the same selfish things they did previously.
I know this is not the typical relational topic, but relationally speaking we are all in this mess together. Somewhere in this, "we the people" should be gaining the comprehension that the way to get through the turmoil is to lend out our helping hands and show compassionate acts to others. This is not to say that we should hinder or enable poor behavior, however it is saying that we need to put compassion back on the team, back in our minds, back in our hearts, and back in our behaviors.
Penalizing others for their tough luck, or poor circumstances is just plain cruel, and it’s not helping to bring any resolutions. Only the heartless penalize their customers automatically with late fees and over limit charges without first considering their circumstances. The old hat brutality method of kicking people when they are down is frankly, stuck on stupid. If someone is late, or lacks the income to make a timely or full payment during tough economic times, what good does it serve to charge them extra fees? What purpose do these cruel penalties serve? The purpose called greed? Shameful business actions compromise integrity and open the door to serious repercussions. Did this just offend you in any way? If it did, maybe it’s because you work for an oil company that controls it’s supply, so that it can increase it’s prices and thus increase it’s profits? Who are oil companies helping besides themselves? Dah!
If you work for a business, what kind of word of mouth advertising do you prefer; Do you want people who tell others how your business cut someone some slack, showed them some mercy and was flexible with them? OR Do you want people who tell of your cruelty, of your thoughtless, and heartless penalizing? It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that it’s better to help people than it is to put holes in everyone’s ship! The more sunken customers, the less customers for all businesses, hello?
To put compassion back in the field of play means that some businesses will need to let go of their stern ways of the past and incorporate flexibility. What if a car loan could be modified to half the normal payment for 6 months to a year without increased charges? Intriguing…..that might just give someone the chance to recover and get back on track. What if credit card companies developed some plans of compassion? Perhaps some plans that would give people the opportunity to stabilize financially? Maybe a plan that would show compassion by way of flexibility, like 3 months without payments and finance charges? If you help your customers, you help yourself, hello?
I know, so many business are so stuck on the 15 yard penalties, the merciless, black hearted ways that cut deep holes in other peoples ships and eventually take the business down as well. If you work for a business, don’t you think it’s a good idea to extend mercy and be compassionate towards others? If you just answered no, then your selfishness will consume you. If you are a CEO of a company, when your last day on earth comes, are you going to tell God how much money you made for yourself or how compassionate you were towards people? Do you think that the One who gave you eyes to see and ears to hear, does not see or hear? Hello?
I know, I did not mention many other types of businesses, like insurance companies, but you know who you are. Life is not about the acquisition of money and material possessions, life is all about relationships within the context of love. Perhaps some businesses would like to rethink their practices and come to the realization that without people, without relationships, they don’t have any business. Hello? Go ahead and pick up your phone, and make the call for compassion.