By Ann Weaver
As we saw in our first article of this month, sympathy and empathy are not the same thing. In that same article, we took a quick look at the differences between them, but today I’d like to take another glance at the contrast between these two traits.
In the dictionary, we see that empathy is “The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” The definition of sympathy is “Feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune.” Empathy is feeling the troubles or joys of another person, and sympathy is being sorry for someone in trouble.
One interesting thing here is that sympathy is for someone else’s misfortune, and empathy is not only sharing the other person’s feelings, but also doing so in all circumstances- not just misfortune! Sympathy is good, but empathy is taking it a step further- not only in how one understands a person’s feelings but also in when one does so.
Often, it’s easy to feel sorry for someone, without truly caring how they feel. We can be sad for someone if their grandparent died or their sister said something rude to them or their pet ran away from home, and still never really be invested in what they truly feel. Just like giving someone a high five when they hold their hand up, it’s automatically wired in our brains when someone tells us something unfortunate to say, “I’m sorry,” or “I hope it’s better soon,” and then never give it a second thought. We may really feel “pity and sorrow” for them, but let it get pushed aside in the midst of other things.
Empathy, on the other hand, is truly feeling for someone and experiencing the same emotions that they are going through at the same time, whether happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, or any other emotion. Interestingly enough, empathy is sometimes called an “ability,” meaning that it’s possible for us to learn how to do this!
This is not to say that sympathy is not good- it certainly is very good! We are always to care for others, whether we know them or not. Empathy, however, is a deeper, more complex sympathy, and it shows others how much we care. It could be called a difference between caring and sharing, for sympathy is only caring, while empathy is both.
Each of these traits have their place, and we should endeavor to look out for times to use both of them in our daily lives, remembering that we are fulfilling the command in Romans 12:15 to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”
*the work of the crosstiching itself is not ours, only the photo of it is. :)
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