“But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” Luke 10:33, 34 (New American Standard Bible)
Do you know the difference between prejudice and conviction? One doesn’t become angry when they talk about their convictions. I guess that’s mostly true. Speaking honestly here I admit that most times if I don’t speak from my prejudices I am thinking and struggling with them internally.
In our day and age we can’t imagine the prejudice the Jews felt for people living in Samaria in Jesus’ day. They were considered half-breeds and a most contemptible people. Let me put it in terms that demonstrate modern prejudice. The story relates how a man was set upon and beaten by thieves. A priest and a Levite came along and ignored the wounded man who was left lying in the road. A despised Samaritan on his way to Jerusalem came along and stopped to help the man. What would be comparable to our feelings of loathing today? How about the good Nazi or the good Hamas member or how about the good divorced person or the good cigarette smoker? The last two have found me raising the edges of my robes in the past and stepping over a wounded and bleeding neighbor. Jesus was telling the religious leaders of His day that He was willing to seek and to save the perishing and that even meant someone as loathed as a vile Samaritan. My neighbor just isn’t the one who returns my Dremel tool and accessories. Answering the man who set in motion this story Jesus said we are neighbors to everyone we meet who is in need. Let us talk of our convictions and not prejudices.
When it comes down to it I tend to choose who my neighbor will be. I’m too much like the man who asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” At the end of the story Jesus asked him which one of the three men in the story proved to be a neighbor to the man wounded and robbed by thieves. The man couldn’t even say “The Samaritan” but answered “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Jesus replied, “Go and do likewise. As I love the Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind stooping to dress the wounds of anyone naturally follows. With that in mind I can indeed go and do likewise.
Ken
www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com
In our day and age we can’t imagine the prejudice the Jews felt for people living in Samaria in Jesus’ day. They were considered half-breeds and a most contemptible people. Let me put it in terms that demonstrate modern prejudice. The story relates how a man was set upon and beaten by thieves. A priest and a Levite came along and ignored the wounded man who was left lying in the road. A despised Samaritan on his way to Jerusalem came along and stopped to help the man. What would be comparable to our feelings of loathing today? How about the good Nazi or the good Hamas member or how about the good divorced person or the good cigarette smoker? The last two have found me raising the edges of my robes in the past and stepping over a wounded and bleeding neighbor. Jesus was telling the religious leaders of His day that He was willing to seek and to save the perishing and that even meant someone as loathed as a vile Samaritan. My neighbor just isn’t the one who returns my Dremel tool and accessories. Answering the man who set in motion this story Jesus said we are neighbors to everyone we meet who is in need. Let us talk of our convictions and not prejudices.
When it comes down to it I tend to choose who my neighbor will be. I’m too much like the man who asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” At the end of the story Jesus asked him which one of the three men in the story proved to be a neighbor to the man wounded and robbed by thieves. The man couldn’t even say “The Samaritan” but answered “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Jesus replied, “Go and do likewise. As I love the Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind stooping to dress the wounds of anyone naturally follows. With that in mind I can indeed go and do likewise.
Ken
www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com
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