Our human sympathies are just as subject to the manipulation of Satan and people as any of our other faculties. That such sympathies can almost never be seen in an ill light makes them incredibly dangerous. A lack of discernment regarding judgments where they play a significant role can lead to catastrophic results. I have also seen sympathy used as a rhetorical guise to cover over the most selfish, sinister, misguided, & ill-conceived causes. Consider Jesus’s words when he rebukes Peter. “Get thee behind me, Satan!” Peter’s desire for a kingdom and leader that fit his paradigm was set on derailing Jesus’s redemptive plan for humanity. This core motive glistened with a sheen of human sympathy (i.e. his desire to protect Jesus from harm) that it almost passes as heroism. In reality, it was a well disguised torpedo from Satan.
To summarize, as one Christian author once wrote, “Never let your human sympathies cloud your vision of God.” Love radically, but never love without wisdom. I believe this is important advice as Christians navigate the current political landscape.
