England's
former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once observed, "No one would
remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions – he had
money too." Of course the Good Samaritan was not an actual historical
figure; he was a fictional man in a story that Jesus told to a religious
legalist who was trying to justify his unwillingness to walk the walk.
The story goes like this:
A
Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he
was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up,
and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came along.
But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the
road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at
him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a
despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt
compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds
with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his
own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next
day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, `Take care of
this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time
I'm here.' "Now which of these three would you say was a
neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked. The man
replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go
and do the same." Luke 10:30-37 NLT
Lessons from the Good Samaritan Story
1. He was willing to get involved.
We
may quote scripture and recite platitudes on love and God, but unless
we are willing to get involved in the lives of others, we are only
blowing smoke. The Samaritan treated and bandaged the wounds. He set the
injured man on his donkey. He took him to an inn and cared for him
throughout the night. The Samaritan could have said to himself, "I give
regularly to my church. I donate to the Salvation Army
every Christmas. I have done my part." But he didn't. As the scriptures
say, he had compassion...and he acted on it.
2. He ignored racism.
Even
though he was considered a "despised Samaritan," he rose above such
shallowness to care for a fellow human being. I compare the Samaritan's
actions to an American 19th century slave showing compassion to a
plantation owner or a Jewish prisoner demonstrating concern for a Nazi
guard during WWII.
3. He had money.
Margaret
Thatcher was absolutely spot on: this was a man who managed his money.
He undoubtedly lived on a budget, spent less than he made and maintained
a contingency fund for unexpected expenses. My wife and I fully realize
that we need to be very intentional if we are going to have such a
giving fund, so we place cash into a "bless envelope" every month.
Knowing that money is there has raised our antennae to the needs around
us.
4. He had a good name.
One
wonders if the Samaritan had been to that inn before, perhaps paying
for some other needy person's stay. We know this: the innkeeper trusted
the Samaritan, probably because he had proven himself to be trustworthy.
5. He was generous.
The
Samaritan didn't know how long the injured man would be laid up, but I
am guessing (because the text said the attack left him "half dead"),
that it could be a prolonged stay. At any rate, the wellbeing of this
stranger was more important to our Good Samaritan than whatever the cost
might be. Again, this generosity would never have been possible if he
hadn't had money in the first place.
The
central message of this story is that, if we are to be good neighbors,
we need to be more like the Samaritan. The implied message is to get
strong financially and stay strong financially so we can have the means
to act on our good intentions.
Jesus concludes with this admonition, "Go and do likewise." When we learn this lesson, we, and the world around us, will be better for it.
This article originally appeared on Christian Personal Finance. Used with permission.
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