What do people think about me? What is said about me in my absence? What type of reputation do I have? Typically we associate people’s acceptance or rejection of us to previously developed prejudices. Realistically people react to us based on how we have treated them. Have we been kind, considerate, compassionate? Have we been indifferent, bitter, vindictive? Perception is often based in reality. People think of us in a particular way because that is how we’ve treated them or how we’ve treated others.
In many ways that’s why when Jesus asked concerning the great commandments of the law that the clear answer was: (1) “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind,” and (2) “thy neighbor as thyself” (Luke 10:26-27). Notice that secondary only to loving God that the expectation was for us to love our fellow man. To treat him in a particular way, representing God among sinful men in the greatest way that we possibly can. But how?
It was in that context that Jesus then launched into one of the most widely known parables of His ministry – the parable of the good Samaritan. Even to people in the world that know little to nothing else about the Bible, the good Samaritan is a symbol of kindness and compassion that should be emulated at every opportunity. And when you look closer at some key factors in the narrative it lets us know what extra steps we can and should take to be a good neighbor as well.
- The good Samaritan helped even though he didn’t know the man. So often our charity is limited to those we know. But while it is good to help friends and family when needs arise if we only show kindness toward those people who have likely shown kindness to us how are we any better than the world who does the same (Matthew 5:46-47)? One of the great aspects of the good Samaritan’s compassion was the fact that the man he helped was a complete stranger. Yet he went to any lengths to help. When the opportunity arises for us, we should readily do the same.
- The good Samaritan helped even at the reality of great investment. Most often our acts of charity, as well meaning as they are, are limited to pulling a few dollars out of our pockets and passing it off without ever breaking stride. While even small acts of kindness such as that are great I wonder how we would react to occasions in which it required more of our time and energy. When the good Samaritan stopped he must have known this wasn’t going to be a quick fix. He had to take the time to clean and dress his wounds, pick him up and set him on his animal, carry him to the nearest inn, and he even spent the night with him to continue his care (vs. 34). That’s quite an investment of time! But couple that with the fact that when he did leave the next morning he committed himself financially to whatever his continued needs would be (vs. 35). Such is almost unheard of today, but we, too, should be willing to not just give out of our abundance, but sacrifice of ourselves to help those legitimately in need.
- The good Samaritan helped even though no one else would. Many times we fear taking the initiative in helping those in need. If someone is sitting on the sidewalk begging and several people are stopping to give them money we might be more likely to do the same. If most of those ahead of us are passing by without helping we will more likely follow that lead as well. But imagine if the good Samaritan had simply followed the lead of the crowd ahead of him. There were some respected people who passed by ahead of him. A priest and Levite, both religious leaders in a way, had seen the man in need and kept on walking (vs. 31-32). Surely the Samaritan could have justified passing by as well. But he didn’t. He transcended the actions of those who had passed before him and stopped to help. Sometimes we need to step out from the crowd and help those in need even if nobody else will.
I don’t want to leave the impression that anything I’ve said above should be limited to providing financial assistance to the poor. While that is necessary there are so many other opportunities that we have on a regular basis to help those around us. Over the course of my life even I have been the beneficiary of good neighbors who have stepped up to help. Whether it has been friends from church helping me paint our house when time was of the essence or neighbors who have helped me fix my lawn mower or fix a leak, even if it is not financial we all need help at times. Thus we should all be willing to step in and provide help. As Solomon said, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly…” (Proverbs 18:24).
-Andy Brewer