One of the stories that I’ve read in the Bible that has stuck with me is the story of “The Good Samaritan” in Luke 10:25-37. I have often felt fascinated by the turnout of events. As a child I had learned that priests were ‘good’ people and this particular Bible story stumped me. “How come the Priest, who was supposed to be a good person, didn’t help out the man in need.”
There are three lessons that I have learned from this story, and all of them point to the stark fact that we are truly not ‘good’. Our goodness comes from Christ Jesus.
There is a certain expectation placed on us as believers.
The moment we give our lives to Christ, we no longer live just for ourselves. We are meant to be a reflection of God’s glory in all that we do- so our words, thoughts, and actions should reflect God’s glory.
The Bible records that “we are the light of the world; we are a city set on a hill that cannot be hid” (Matthew 5:15). If indeed we believe these words concerning our lives, then we would become conscious of the things we do. Showing kindness should come naturally to us because we are representatives of Christ here on earth. As Christ works in our hearts, we become more like Him and can extend his kindness to a broken world.
I expected the Priest to help the man who was struggling because it just felt like it was the right thing to do. He represents God. His actions should also show that. It will be easy to tell someone about God’s love when the things we do already show that we believe what we are talking about.
Show kindness even when it is unexpected.
The Bible already tells us that “the heart of man is desperately wicked.” However, there are some situations where we know that we are not being security conscious but just not showing love to others. I can imagine that the Priest suspected that if he stayed there for too long, then he could be attacked too. Maybe that road has been tagged as a dangerous road and he didn’t want to end up the same way as the man who was robbed.
While those thoughts might be considered a great justification for that action, someone actually stayed to help. He helped in spite of the difficult circumstance. If you read that parable well, you’d see that the Samaritan was on a journey when he saw what happened. Tensions were high between Samaritans and Israel people. Yet, the Samaritan stopped to help a Jew because he saw a need that he could meet. How often have you ignored that nudge you feel to help someone because you thought about yourself over the other person?
Don’t let pride and selfishness get in the way of what Christ is leading you to.
Being kind to others should be a sign of good measure, not a means to gain recognition.
I’ve always been drawn to this story. I really wanted to understand how that Samaritan man helped, despite the tensions between Israel and Samaria. Too often people show kindness for the acknowledgment of the act without pure motives. Was the Samaritan showing kindness because he wanted some sort of acknowledgment for his good deed, or was it a selfless act or was it helping another human being in turmoil?
The Samaritan was being kind because it was the right thing to do.
The true act of kindness can only become easy for us when we fully grasp the meaning of love. When Jesus was breaking down the commandments, he made it just two commandments- love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31). When love is at the center of your actions, life becomes much easier to go through. Showing kindness to others, even at times when we don’t feel like it, will become an aspect of our everyday living.
The Challenge
- Watch out for opportunities to show kindness to those who have hurt you.
- Do not feel the need to brag about that act of kindness, just so people know you are kind.
A Little Bit More About Olawunmi
Olawunmi is the last of seven children, an aunty to several nieces and nephews. She is a Blogger who is very interested in seeing many understand the love of Christ through His Word. She likes to write, and because she believes it’s a gift from God, she’s willing to explore a lot more of this gift.
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