Luke 10:33-37 (ERV) “Then a Samaritan man traveled down that road. He came to the place where the hurt man was lying. He saw the man and felt very sorry for him.  The Samaritan went to him and poured olive oil and wine on his wounds. Then he covered the man’s wounds with cloth. The Samaritan had a donkey. He put the hurt man on his donkey, and he took him to an inn. There he cared for him. The next day, the Samaritan took out two silver coins and gave them to the man who worked at the inn. He said, ‘Take care of this hurt man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’” Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was really a neighbor to the man who was hurt by the robbers?” The teacher of the law answered, “The one who helped him.”

Rick Warren writes that there are three responses to those in need. 

1) Some people keep their distance (Luke 10:30-31). This was the example the priest gave us in the story. He simply avoided the problem altogether. He didn’t even want to know what the problem was. This is what I call the lifestyle of avoidance. We tell ourselves, “Don’t get too close to people; you may have to help them. You may get your hands dirty.” That was the priest’s problem: he was too “holy” to be helpful. He didn’t want to be stained by the stuff of life. When we live a lifestyle of avoidance, we try to keep all our relationships superficial. If we can keep everyone at arm’s length, we can pretend we don’t see their pain and their needs. If we don’t get involved, we can avoid getting hurt or inconvenienced.

2) Some people are curious but uninvolved (Luke 10:32). The Levite, who was the second man to walk by the injured man, demonstrated this response. The Bible says he “went over and looked at the man” (Luke 10:32b GNT) before passing him by. In a way, this response is even worse. In the first attitude we “see” the problem from a distance and pretend it isn’t there. In this response, we acknowledge the need through our curiosity, but we don’t do anything to help. When we do this we’re simply saying, “Sorry, I can’t be bothered. I’ve got more important things to do.”

3) Some people get close enough to care (Luke 10:33-37). Of course, this is the Good Samaritan. He went above and beyond to help the injured man at his own expense. The Bible tells us, “Our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action” (1 John 3:18 GNT). Mercy takes action where others take off. Mercy isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty. And Jesus calls every one of his followers to have the attitude of the Good Samaritan.

-Rick Warren (pastorrick.com)

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