Compassion is for someone suffering or someone who is in a
disadvantageous situation. Camaraderie is amongst those who are in similar
situations or amongst equals. And service is to someone considered superior or
respect worthy, or to some higher authority or ideal.
Compassion and camaraderie are very noble qualities indeed.
They are high virtues exhibited by those who can empathize with others, and
want to make someone else’s life a little better. But interestingly, neither of
these two is service in the sense service is defined above.
Compassion and camaraderie typically don’t need one to
consider the recipient as a superior; in fact they are typically done in the
mood of helping out a needy person when one is in a superior or equivalent
position.
This explains why helping the needy and doing activities
together in groups is so popular, while serving superiors is not. Serving needs
obedience, it needs one to compromise on one’s own preferences, it needs
accepting someone else’s control on one’s life; in short it accepting someone or
something else as superior to oneself.
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