The "Gullible"
Samaritan?
by Tim
Knappenberger
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The other day I
road up the elevator with one of the case workers from my
office. She relayed that she had been up most of the
night answering questions for the police. An opening
statement like that will pique the interest of any boss!
When I inquired why, she told the story of how her
daughter had given a ride to a woman she saw walking
along the Interstate at 11:00 o'clock at night. Her
daughter struggled with whether she should give a lift to
someone she didn't know; but the girl was alone, it was
late, and it was cold. So, giving in to her altruistic
side, she pulled over. The wayside walker told her a
story of traveling from out of state and being left alone
in a mall parking lot by her boyfriend. She asked my
friend's daughter to take her to a near-by house where
she would find assistance. The daughter was thanked for
her kindness and drove off feeling that "glow"
all good Samaritans feel following their good deeds. The
"glow" lasted about as long as it took her to
get home and find that her purse, which she had been
lying on the floor of the back seat was missing. After a
few hours and a few police contacts later, she learned
that her "damsel in distress" was a hooker who
had a string of priors including theft. The mother closed
by quoting her daughter as saying, "I guess
that's the last stranded traveler I'll ever stop
for." How sad. Understandable, sure; but terribly
sad nonetheless. The daughter took a risk, extended
herself unselfishly, and then was "cold cocked"
with a right-cross of evil reality. Many would counsel
her to justifiably shut off her spigot flowing with the
"milk of human kindness" and never again expose
herself to such risk. Such thinking carries the
implication that doing nice things carries the
pre-requisite that they be risk-free. Furthermore, should
we suffer for performing caring acts then ceasing to care
is justified.
A recent
interviewer asked Rev. Billy Graham what had most changed
in the world since he first began preaching. This saintly
national treasurer replied that he was beginning to see a
pattern unfold in the world that Scripture had long ago
prophesied. He noted that the world was becoming
increasingly polarized between good and evil. Good people
were serving without being asked, caring for others in
need, and extending themselves even at the risk of harm.
Meanwhile, evil people were growing increasingly violent,
amoral, and self-focused. The ethical blur lying between
good and evil is rapidly shrinking. The sharp contrasts
between the extremes are becoming painfully clear.
I know I
write this at the risk of sounding foolhardy at worst or
"polyanneish" at best. Risk and caring must
continually be weighed and assessed in our world today. I
have warned my own bride to avoid hitchhikers at all
costs in deference to her safety. Nevertheless, the
parable of the Good Samaritan fails to offer even a hint
that caring for others comes cost-free to ourselves. The
Samaritan was at the same risk from robbers as was the
one he rescued. Caring forced him away from his
agenda, his timetable, and his plans. It
cost him his money. Risk and cost always seem to go
hand-in-hand with caring and compassion. For the
believer, however, it must be remembered that we never
risk alone. …the Father of compassion and the God
of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so
that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort
we ourselves have received from God. (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
What a time for our "salt and light" to bring
notice to the Gospel. Will it entail risk? Without doubt.
Do we risk alone? Absolutely not. You see, when we care
for others, we're really the conduit through which God's
care flows. When we cease our caring, we tie a knot in
that hose.
As Robert
De Vincenzo, the Argentine golf pro, was leaving a
tournament in which he won 1st place, he was approached by a poor
single mother asking for assistance for her dying baby.
De Vincenzo took his winnings check, endorsed it and
handed it to the mother. A short while later his golfing
peers chided him for his extreme act of generosity after
it was learned the young woman was a con-artist. "You
mean to say there was NO dying baby?!" Robert
asked. "None," they answered. "Well
that's the best news I've heard all week!" was
Mr. De Vincenzo's only response. [From A 3rd
Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul - Jack Canfield
& Mark Victor Hansen - Health Communications, Inc. -
1996]
There is nothing FREE in striving to
be risk-free or care-free.
Both will cost you your compassion.
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| Luke
10:30-34 30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going
down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the
hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat
him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest
happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw
the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a
Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by
on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled,
came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity
on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own
donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. (NIV) |