I’m not a Christian, I’m not anything in terms of having a belief system chosen off the standard menu, but since there is some scripture quotin’ going on I will add this:
Matthew 25:31–46
(New International Version)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
I try the best I can to be compassionate in ways large and small, mostly small, every day, but most of us are not faced with the challenge or the chance to engage in large acts of compassion on a daily basis. But I believe that, what good there is in the Bible, is exemplified in these passages. You feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, you clothe the poor, you have compassion for the sick, you try to be kind, and decent and not just think about yourself, and your own family and friends, etc. Just a small example, I was out on the sidewalk, outside of work, having a smoke, and a homeless kid came by asking where he could get a drink of water. The other people around just ignored him, they wouldn’t even speak to him. For god’s sake all he wants is a drink of water, and all the people around me, I suspect, believed themselves to be Christians, but I was the only one who would even bother to tell him that there was a water fountain in the library across the street. A very, very tiny act of compassion. But it disgusted me that no one else would even answer him. And I have also engaged in somewhat greater acts of compassion, but I am much better at the ordinary day to day stuff, which is not so bad. I certainly won’t be getting the Nobel Peace Prize, that’s for sure. And I’m certainly not a saint. I can be as selfish and self absorbed as anyone, but I’m decent enough, mostly.