The Other Side of the Road

 Many of you are familiar with the account of the "The Good Samaritan" but for the sake of those that are not, I have provided the following scripture reference:  Luke 10:29-37 KJV.

The entire point of Christ's answer to the lawyer, is simply this; your neighbor is anyone that you encounter along life's journey. And you are to love that person in the same manner in which you love yourself. 

My previous post deals with the traveler and the thieves. This post will target the religious men that saw the traveler, passed by him, and went on their way. It is saddening to recognize the parallel that exists between this pair of religious men and many of today's ministers. However, it is not my aim to point out the flaws of various ministers, but rather, it is to cause you to take inventory of your own motives and actions.

We can glean from verses 32 & 33, the fact that both the priest & Levite were traveling along the same side of the road as where the robbed, beaten traveler lay. And the scriptures are clear that these two saw him and crossed to the other side of the road. They did not want to engage with him in any way. And certainly, they did not want to become "unclean" by reason of any physical contact that might occur, if the beaten man was, in fact dead. See  Leviticus 21:1-4 . 

In other words, the priest and the Levite were more concerned about reaching their destinations "clean", than they were about rendering aid to a poor soul that had been robbed, beaten, & left for dead. Perhaps  they were on their way to Jerusalem to minister. If that was the case, then they simply could not afford to become unclean; else they would have to forfeit their ministering for seven days. See Numbers 19:11. And that would prevent them from receiving any offering/compensation for that days's labor.

So, it might not have been about their state of cleanliness. It may have been about missing out on what they had planned to do and what they had expected to receive. Hmmmm... how many times do we hurriedly pass by the homeless, lonely, the stranded motorist, and etc? How many times do we do just "a little something"instead of taking the time/effort to fully see to another's needs? How many times do we avoid the nerd in the class, the noisy co-worker, the broke friend, or even the social media posts requesting prayer?

Just think about it. Question yourself. Examine yourself.  Do you really love your neighbor as you love yourself? Matthew 22:39 KJV  Love is kind and love is patient. You may not be a priest or Levite, but you are called to be like Christ, you are called to be a minister/servant. If you need a refresher on what real love is all about, read I Corinthians chapter 13. Think I'm going to stop right here & read it again.