Luke 10:30- 37 "And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." If we were to read about this in the paper tomorrow, more likely than not there would be more to the story than this.
"Jew sues ‘Good Samaritan’ for mental anguish and defamation of character.
‘I was just taking a peaceful nap in a ditch when this man grabbed me, bound me up, and took me to an Inn. When I finally did manage to get free, he had spread this vicious rumor that I was in mortal peril and would have died if not for his help. Why I can’t even show my face at work I’m so embarrassed.’ ----
In the litigious times in which we live it is a horrible reality that things like this happen. Ever heard of a "Good Samaritan" law, in case you haven’t they are laws set up to prevent people from suing others who help them. Mostly these laws apply to CPR but in some states have been given a broader meaning. I, for one, think it is quite sad that we need such laws. I don’t know how many times I have heard, and even said " I would help, but....". Yet the more we study the Bible the more we realize that it has been this way for a while.
Matthew 12: 9-14"And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. " We see here that the Pharisees were more than willing to punish Jesus for the kindness he showed this man in healing him. From this we see that we are not ‘off the hook’ just because our kindness to someone may result in harm to ourselves.
Yes, it is sad that people will try to punish you for helping them, but we as God’s children are held to a higher standard. Matthew 5: 43-45 "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." We see here, in no uncertain terms, that kindness to those that may or even will harm you is in the job description.
Yet that is not the only lesson to be learned today. Not only are we to be "Good Samaritans", we are also to be "Good Jews". We are not to be like the Jew in my fictitious newspaper story. It often goes unsaid, but we are to avoid litigation at all costs. Luke 12: 57-59"Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite."
While we are in this world, differences will happen. However the key to resolving those differences is to treat others as the Bible tells us to. We should be kind, longsuffering, and forgiving. Colossians 3:12-13 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Only when we do this, can we be both a "Good Samaritan" and a "Good Jew".
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