Christian Fellowship

“We found the biggest drop in empathy after the year 2000,” said Sara Konrath, a researcher at the U-M Institute for Social Research. “College kids today are about 40 percent lower in empathy than their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago, as measured by standard tests of this personality trait.”

Konrath conducted the meta-analysis, combining the results of 72 different studies of American college students conducted between 1979 and 2009, with U-M graduate student Edward O’Brien and undergraduate student Courtney Hsing.

Compared to college students of the late 1970s, the study found, college students today are less likely to agree with statements such as

“I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective”

and

“I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me.”

In a related but separate analysis, Konrath found that nationally representative samples of Americans see changes in other people’s kindness and helpfulness over a similar time period.

“Many people see the current group of college students?sometimes called

‘Generation Me’?

as one of the most self-centered, narcissistic, competitive, confident and individualistic in recent history,” said Konrath, who is also affiliated with the University of Rochester Department of Psychiatry.

“It’s not surprising that this growing emphasis on the self is accompanied by a corresponding devaluation of others,” O’Brien said.

Why is empathy declining among young adults?

Konrath and O’Brien suggest there could be several reasons, which they hope to explore in future research.

“The increase in exposure to media during this time period could be one factor,” Konrath said. “Compared to 30 years ago, the average American now is exposed to three times as much nonwork-related information. In terms of media content, this generation of college students grew up with video games, and a growing body of research, including work done by my colleagues at Michigan, is establishing that exposure to violent media numbs people to the pain of others.”

The recent rise of social media may also play a role in the drop in empathy, suggests O’Brien.

“The ease of having ‘friends’ online might make people more likely to just tune out when they don’t feel like responding to others’ problems, a behavior that could carry over offline,” he said.

Add in the hypercompetitive atmosphere and inflated expectations of success, borne of celebrity “reality shows,” and you have a social environment that works against slowing down and listening to someone who needs a bit of sympathy, he says.

“College students today may be so busy worrying about themselves and their own issues that they don’t have time to spend empathizing with others, or at least perceive such time to be limited,” O’Brien said.

I dream of better.

I dream of a community of love, generosity, encouraging one another rather than competing with each other, a community people desire to move to, a community people would love to raise their children in, I place that is safe, a community people our excited to tell others they are from. To hear generations say I was born and raised in Rockaway Beach. A community people don’t try to escape from but desire to come back to.

Romans 12:9 gives us some more elements of what this community looks like

Romans 12:9 HCSB

9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.

Recently I experienced someone leading me along and making me believe what they were saying was going to actually be true. I came to find out that this was not the case and what they were saying was different than what actually came to be true.

This left me feeling so dumb that I believed their words and that things were different.

I even told a few friends that it was going to be different but in the end I felt like I had been played.

I felt so dumb that I did not see the writing on the wall.

In Christian community, Love must be sincere or without hypocrisy.

No one wants to feel dumb. No one wants to think they are in a loving community only to find out that what they believed to be true is not.

Side note: Being held accountable is not hypocrisy. As a matter of fact, The lack of accountability could be a sign of fake loving community.

A community in which you hold others accountable and you allow others to hold you accountable is a community of love without hypocrisy

Don’t mistake a community of accountability of one with hypocrisy.

We long for a community of Love without hypocrisy

Detest or hate what is evil; cling to what is good

How do we know what is evil? Scripture

Cling to what is good

Attach firmly to what is good. Weld yourself to what is good.

(hold to what is good like you do when you have your cell phone or wallet)

Romans 12:10 HCSB

10 Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor.

I grew up with a healthy family relationship with my brother.

He is one of the small number of people in this world that I have ever punched. haha

We had a good relationship growing up and their are times we still argue but when I think of this verse I think of our phone conversations. We call each other at times to catch up on the phone. I listen to how his family is doing and he will ask me about my family.

It can be hard for us to get off the phone because one of us will say we have to go but then we start talking about something else.

Think about applying this to our community here.

When is the last time you called someone in this community just to catch up?

Outdo one another in showing honor

Philippians 2:3 in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.

Romans 12:11–12 HCSB

11 Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

I like the ESV here do not be slothful in zeal

Not shrinking, not hesitating, not being lazy in zeal (diligence)

Fervent in spirit

Boiling in the spirit (Fruits of the Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control)

Serve the Lord

Rejoice in hope

Hope in Christ is the basis of rejoicing

Be patient in affliction

Being steadfast, having endurance

Persistent in prayer

Devoted to prayer. Prayer for wisdom, guidance and strength

Romans 12:13 HCSB

13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.

Share with God’s people in need

Pursue hospitality

pursue friendliness to strangers

Romans 12:14 HCSB

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Believers reactions to the actions of others

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse

Romans 12:15 HCSB

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

Christians should be able to empathize with others, both believers and unbelievers.

Empathy:

Empathy is not feeling sorry for someone in pain. That’s sympathy. Rather, it is mentally putting yourself in the suffering person’s shoes to feel their pain.

As Harvard professor Arthur Brooks reminds us, “It’s the difference between ‘get well soon’ and ‘I can imagine how much discomfort you must be feeling right now.’

Evidence suggests that empathy really can lessen other people’s burdens.

Romans 12:16 HCSB

16 Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

Being in harmony with other Christians is basic to being able to empathize with them.

John A. Witmer, “Romans,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 489.

Do not be proud be willing to associate with people of low position

Don’t be wise in your own estimation

You will struggle to exercise empathy if you are wise in your own estimation.

Romans 12:17–18 HCSB

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.

How should we act when someone commits evil toward us?

How should we act when things are out of our control?

How should we act when other people don’t want to live peaceably with us?

It’s not always possible to live peaceably with all people. However, I do believe as Jesus-people, any lack of peace with someone else should never be due to our failing to live peaceably as much as it depends on us. Meaning, we should never be the source or instigator of turmoil or strife or conflict.

Wright also says when we live this way in front of the world, it may lead people to be glad they live in the community where the Gospel is being lived out.

It can be amazing what we are willing to put up with or sacrifice for something we love.

Sports fans put up with opposing views for the sake of sports

I not only dream of a place of living peaceably with everyone

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