What prevents YOU from being the Good Samaritan?

Most everyone has heard the story of the good Samaritan during some point in their life. If asked to recount the story, nearly everyone would say something like “Someone’s hurt on the side of the road, and someone stops to help them.” If I were to follow their recollection of the Good Samaritan story up asking them if they felt they recounted the story correctly and completely, I would personally struggle with their answer if they said “yes.” Why? Because it’s so significantly incomplete and misses some important and incredible life lessons that are contained within the complete story. Valuable life lessons that were intended to inspire all of us to be the very best version of ourselves…

Yes, I know… the good Samaritan story is from the bible and you’re not a religious person and not interested in anything the bible has to say. Let’s put religion on the sideline for a minute. Would you be willing to consider a perspective that can vastly improve your life? Consider that as of today, the bible is the number one selling book in the world. Consider that it’s the number one selling book of all time in the entire world since the invention of books. Why is that? Doesn’t something inside of you wonder what’s inside it that people throughout history have found?

What they’ve found is Valuable Life Lessons written in story form that were pertinent when it was first published, pertinent in today’s world, and will be pertinent throughout all of the future. I implore you…don’t dismiss the bible just because it’s tied to religion, rather, embrace the bible as a book that contains powerful life lessons that can lead you to living a fulfilling and worthwhile life. Think of studying it as a gift you give yourself.

I’ve chosen the parable of the good Samaritan to give you an example of its value. I’m paraphrasing the bible to amplify the life lessons contained in the story.

A man was on a journey and fell prey to a group of bandits who stripped him, beat him, and left him for dead. Shortly afterwards, two men, a Priest and a Levite, intentionally passed by on the OTHER side of the road to avoid engaging with this injured and near-death man. These were two men who studied what God expected of them, knew the love of God, and did their best to make sure their actions pleased God, yet did just the opposite when given the opportunity. The story continues…

A third man happens along. He’s someone who occupies the lowest rung on the social scale. Samaritans at the time were despised and looked at as being of mixed descent. The product of an interracial marriage, a Samaritan lived knowing what it was like to be ignored and hated simply because of his heritage mixed of two lineages (sound familiar?).

The Samaritan, not caring about the hurt person’s lineage, sees a human whose life he has the ability to impact and immediately administers aid to the best of his ability. He saw a need; he met a need. But he’s not done. He puts the man on the donkey that he had been riding on, takes him to an Inn (hotel in today’s world), and administers to his wounds and health further. He gives the innkeeper additional money to cover costs until he can return.

While there are several life lessons in the story of the good Samaritan, the most important is the incredible mercy that the good Samaritan showed the hurt individual. He didn’t care about any of the issues that seemingly blind all of us in our current society. He didn’t makethe hurt individual fill out a questionnaire inquiring about race, religion, sex, political party, environmental views, educational background, nor current social status. He immediately offered mercy in its purest form. He saw a need; he met a need.

So, what prevents you from being a Good Samaritan on any given day? I’ve often asked myself that question while walking down a wide variety of paths in life. Are there days when it’s easier to dispense justice rather than mercy? When you were reading my paraphrased story of the good Samaritan, were you distracted by what the Priest and Levite did and the hypocrisy it showed? Did that distraction interrupt you from embracing the intended life lesson of mercy? Why do you think it was necessary to include them in the parable? Are their reactions reflective of our own from time to time? Is righteousness a quicker and seemingly easier response than pausing and showing mercy? How often are there opportunities to share mercy with another person? Is it daily?

Showing mercy provides a fellow human being with dignity. I learned this when I read the book “Under the Overpass” which shares the lessons learned by two individuals who intentionally lived penniless and homeless for 5 months of their life in an effort to seek wisdom from the experience. They craved mercy and dignity every day, while most often being served with indifference, righteousness, contempt, or shame instead. But it seems like nearly every day, amidst the vast number of people who ignored them, there would be some form of a Good Samaritan that paused, showed mercy, and provided dignity. The power of that mercy far outweighed the sadness and disappointment of others indifference.

I’m human, just like you, and I admit it’s awful easy to dispense armchair justice and righteousness from the protection and comfort of our home, especially on social media. But what if everyone in the world dispensed mercy instead. Can you imagine what our world would look like? What would the impact of people’s attitude be both in public and at home with their loved ones if we were all sharing mercy? While I sense I can get a lot of support for this idea, I worry that so many of you might have great intentions without the required action it takes. Please don’t wait for others to go first. YOU go first. Use the Good Samaritan story as inspiration to always show mercy to others. See a need; meet a need. It’s really that simple. Hey…I Believe In YOU! GiddyUp!