Is Empathy a Sin?

Four out of five Americans agree that empathy is a good thing.

“Most Americans agree with the statement ‘Empathy is a moral value that is the foundation of a healthy society’ (80%), compared with 16% who agree with the statement ‘Empathy is a dangerous emotion that undermines our ability to set up a society that is guided by God’s truth’” (PRRI.org, Oct. 22, 2025).

In spite of that high level of agreement, or maybe partly because of it, some recent books have taken aim at this emotion that has generally been seen as a virtue:

• The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits by Joe Rigney (2025).
• Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion by Allie Beth Stuckey (2024).

Such in-your-face titles have sparked controversy. Does the Bible say empathy is a sin? Can it be toxic and lead to sin?

On the other hand, can it be a virtue and a reflection of the character of God?

What is empathy?

Merriam-Webster.com defines empathy as “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.”

The first known use of empathy was in 1909 in a specialized sense, while today’s common usage developed in the mid-20th century.

Some synonyms include sympathy, compassion, kindness and mercy.

What does the Bible say about empathy?

The word empathy is not used in the New King James Version of the Bible (or almost any other English translation). Obviously, this means it is not specifically listed as a sin or a virtue.

However, its related words do appear many times as virtues and attributes of our loving God.

Empathy and sympathy

Empathy is related to sympathy, a virtue we admire and deeply appreciate in Jesus Christ:

Godly sympathy, compassion, kindness and mercy are all based on God’s nature of love. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Merriam-Webster explains the relationship between empathy and sympathy:

“Sympathy is a feeling of sincere concern for someone who is experiencing something difficult or painful. Empathy involves actively sharing in the person’s emotional experience. Confusion about the pair of words likely stems from the fact that the word sympathy, which dates to the 16th century, at one time carried both of these meanings.”

Other biblical virtues related to empathy

In addition to sympathy, the Bible uses other words to describe aspects of God’s loving nature we are to emulate.

Compassion: God is “full of compassion” (Psalm 78:38). Jesus was “moved with compassion” (Matthew 9:36). The good Samaritan “had compassion” on the injured man and showed mercy to him; Jesus tells us, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:33, 37).

Read more about the virtue of compassion in our articles “Jesus’ Compassion” and “Dealing With Compassion Fatigue.”

Kindness: God is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (Joel 2:13). “Kindness” is a fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22). God extols the virtuous woman for guiding her words with “the law of kindness” (Proverbs 31:26).

Study more about what the Bible says about kindness in our articles “Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness” and “Stories of Kindness in the Bible.”

Mercy: God is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4), and He requires us “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). He proclaims Himself, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6).

Meditate more on God’s mercy with our article “Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment.”

Summing up God’s love

Godly sympathy, compassion, kindness and mercy are all based on God’s nature of love. And love—real, godly love—is always based on what is right and true and eternally best for everyone. The apostle Paul expressed the essential connection between God’s love and His law this way:

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

“For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

“Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:8-10).

God’s law defines how to truly show love, so breaking His law means not showing real love.

But much of what is called love today is superficial, selfish—not godly love.

Could virtues like sympathy and compassion also be counterfeited? Can empathy be exploited?

Is there a toxic form of empathy that can lead to sin?

While empathy itself is not a sin, like many emotions, it can be misused. Playing on a person’s empathy or any other emotion in order to justify wrong actions is wrong. Empathy unmoored from God’s law can blur the lines between right and wrong.

Isaiah warned against abandoning God’s definitions of right and wrong: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).

How can empathy be used to promote such redefinitions?

The book Toxic Empathy gives the example of media outlets using heart-wrenching stories to build empathy for pregnant women who are seeking an abortion. Such feelings can reflect real compassion, but the twist is to make the choice to end the life of an unborn child seem like just a health-care decision rather than a moral choice between right and wrong.

The godly approach is to have deep compassion and sympathy, but to recognize that the pain and suffering of this world is caused by sin. Condoning sin or adding a new sin does not truly help. It doesn’t show godly love to the unborn child. (See more in our articles “Is Abortion Wrong?” and “The Problem With Abortion Is Bigger Than Abortion.”)

Godly love is love for everyone, for all time. It is not temporary and limited.

The perfect example

Jesus set us the perfect example. He felt deep compassion for the hungry, the ill and the lost. He related to the downtrodden of society. He encourages us to serve and care for the needs of the most vulnerable.

The apostle John summarized the message of love that Jesus had taught him:

“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:16-17)

Jesus did not shut up His heart. There are many examples of His compassion and sympathy and, indeed, empathy.

Consider His emotions after His friend Lazarus died.

Lazarus’ sister Mary came to Jesus and “fell down at His feet, saying to Him, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.’

“Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled” (John 11:32-33).

Jesus knew He was about to bring Lazarus back to life. He knew they would have joy in place of the sorrow. But He still felt for Mary and the others, seeing the situation from their perspective.

The Bible simply says, “Jesus wept” (verse 35).

And He understands our weaknesses and experienced the myriad temptations of this world. He sympathizes with us, but He never condones our sins, and He never sinned Himself. Study this further in our blog post “Jesus Christ, Our High Priest: What Is the Meaning of Hebrews 4:15?”

His message to all of us when we are caught up in sin is, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11).

The answer to the suffering caused by sin is repentance and the forgiveness of sin, and God’s help to change and start anew.

To understand more about how God thinks and how He wants us to think and feel and act, take our fascinating Journey through “The Fruit of the Spirit.”

So, while empathy can be twisted to try to justify sin, empathy itself is not a sin and, in fact, can be an expression of the sympathy, compassion, kindness and mercy of God.