The past several weeks have been filled with multiple examples of what is taken into account “toxic empathy,” and we, as Christians, are to see it as a distortion of true empathy and Biblical Truth.
Empathy Defined
But before we consider these cases, we must ask the query: what’s empathy? According to Merriam Webster, the term empathy is defined as “the motion of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the sentiments, thoughts, and experience of one other.”
In other words, empathy is about understanding how one other person is feeling. How over and over have you ever spoken to a friend who’s struggling, and the moment they share what’s improper, you say, “I’ve been there.” Thus, having empathy allows for interpersonal relatability, which in turn, ends in establishing stronger connections in all relationships.
We see loads of scriptural support for empathy, whether it is the apostle Paul telling the church to “rejoice with those that rejoice, weep with those that weep” (Romans 12:35) or the apostle Peter’s exhortation to believers to “have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a young heart, and a humble mind” (1 Peter 3:8).
The Lord Jesus Christ, our prime example, is described within the book of Hebrews as our great high priest who empathizes with all our weaknesses because He in “every respect has been tempted as we’re, yet without sin” (Hebrews 7:15). Therefore, we see that empathy may be thing when checked out biblically.
Toxic Empathy Defined
On the opposite hand, toxic empathy is described as what happens when people compromise moral values and demanding considering so as to empathize with others, particularly in political matters. Such cases like this have gone viral on social media prior to now two weeks, particularly against the policies of President Donald Trump, who took office for the second time.
Recent Cases of Toxic Empathy
During the National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025, the Rev. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde told the president, who was seated alongside his wife, family, and Vice President JD Vance and his wife, to have empathy for people within the LGBTQ+ community and for illegal immigrants.
“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you. … In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who’re scared now,” Budde said during a sermon on unity. “There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for his or her lives.
“The individuals who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat-packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They is probably not residents or have the correct documentation, but the overwhelming majority of immigrants usually are not criminals.”
Budde then urged Trump “to have mercy” on those “in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away and that you simply help those that are fleeing warzones and persecution of their own lands to search out compassion and welcome here.”
In related news this week, singer and actress Selena Gomez went viral after she posted a now-deleted video of herself on Instagram crying due to mass deportations going down by the Trump administration.
“All my individuals are getting attacked, the youngsters. I do not understand,” she said. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could do something, but I am unable to. I do not know what to do. I’ll try all the pieces, I promise.”
Gomez later shared a post on her Instagram story after her video received backlash, stating, “Apparently, it is not okay to indicate empathy for people.”
Addressing Toxic Empathy
Criticisms against Budde and Gomez each accused them of getting a double standard because they didn’t say anything in regards to the drug cartels, gangs, and the sex trafficking of ladies and kids which have taken place on account of the Biden administration’s open-border policy.
That’s the issue with toxic empathy, where people want others to indicate empathy despite ignoring the full picture and supporting causes that do more harm than good.
Alle Beth Stuckey, who hosts the BlazeTV podcast Relatable, which covers culture and politics from a Christian perspective, recently released her book Toxic Empathy: How the Left Exploits Christian Compassion, how toxic empathy can deceive Christians to affirm initiatives that contradict the Bible, including abortion, gender, sexuality, immigration and social justice.
“Slogans like ‘love is love‘ or ‘abortion is healthcare‘ are circular and sometimes lack defined terms,“ she told The Christian Post. “They’re meant to tug on heartstrings and evoke an emotional response, not to have interaction critical considering.“
She also shared how empathy is merely an emotion that may be easily manipulated.
“Empathy really shouldn’t be a biblical command. Empathy means to feel how another person feels. That may be good, or it may be bad. It’s not virtuous in itself,“ she said. “Empathy can motivate us toward love. It may also blind us to reality or morality.”
Biblical Truth > Toxic empathy
Ultimately, Stuckey says that love grounded in biblical Truth is healthier than toxic empathy.
“Love, as we read in Scripture, by the God who created it, is inextricably intertwined with Truth. And so this truth-in-love approach is significantly better, more substantive, more profound and way more biblical than this superficial, toxic empathy, which emotionally manipulates people into only specializing in one particular victim and affirming whatever that person wants.”
Amy Main, a Christian content creator, also addressed toxic empathy in an Instagram reel this week, encouraging her Christians to base their actions on Scripture, not emotions.
“I do know that everyone is using ‘love your neighbor‘ as a way to justify their political opinion right away but hear me out. Christians, your emotions don’t inform how you like your neighbor. Scripture does,“ Maim said. “And Scripture tells us that we serve a God of law, of order, and of justice because he loves us. He disciplines those he loves. He puts the law into place to guard those he loves. It’s actually superb. It provides justice and mercy, and it may be really uncomfortable since it goes against our own fleshly response.“
She added, “But when you’re telling any person else that is a Christian, ‘you are not being very loving.‘ And as a substitute of allowing Scripture to tell you on why they don’t seem to be, you utilize your opinion. You needs to be silent.”
I could not agree more. Although we may feel empathy to others, we rightly address it through God’s love and speaking the Truth in love. Even if others may hate us for speaking the Truth in love, at the tip of the day, we all know that is what’s best for them, and we pray that God would open their eyes to the Truth within the midst of a sinful world that does right in its own eyes. Therefore, the Word of God should direct how we feel and address the cultural and political issues at hand.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/fizkes
