LIFE LESSONS FROM THE GOOD SAMARITAN

1. The Good Samaritan had knowledge of First Aid. Not only that, he actively traveled with his First Aid kit:

He bound up the man’s wounds (bandage, lint);
pouring in oil and wine (liniment, antiseptic);
set him on his own beast (ambulance);
took him to an inn (hospital);
tended to him and when he was stable enough, handed him over to the keeper.
This man was enlightened.

(By the way, you have a car but common G.V, methylated spirit or even Essential Balm you don’t have inside.
Your freezer and glove compartment is stocked with CocaCola, Banana, Gala, kolanut, ginger, turmeric and bitter cola seeds.
You’re not serious.)

2. He was not bothered over the likely depletion of his travel resources.
The inn he took the Wounded Man to was not his destination. It was simply a stop that interspersed his start-up point and eventual destination. Yet, he was not rattled at the prospect of doling out part of the cash he had earmarked for a comfortable travel to care for an unknown stranger in need.
This man was selfless.

3. He set The Man on his own beast, and probably trekked the rest of the journey to the inn.
It’s not foolishness and stupidity when you disadvantage yourself in order to help out others in need. That’s the very definition of selflessness.
Help should be holistic. No half measures.

4. He paid deposit for the Wounded Man’s admission and accepted full responsibility for his treatment.

My dear, your bank won’t suddenly whittle down and crumble to nothing just because you took out money from your pocket to ‘buy card’ for an accident victim you took to the hospital.

It’s not enough to load them all in your car and dump them in the emergency hall.
As much as you can afford it, try to follow up their treatment, just like the Good Samaritan would have done if he were in your shoes at that moment.

5. The wounds inflicted on The Man in the parable must have been extensive, probably third or second degree wounds.
He was stripped naked and attacked by vicious, savage ne’er-do-wells, who inflicted wounds on him till he passed out.
He must have lost a lot of blood, and most likely looked as if he would die in the hands of any one who’d adventure to step forward to help. The Priest would have gotten his robe bloodstained, and the Levites most likely mulled over the likelihood of a well celebrated scandal if things went South as one tried to be nice.

But The Good Samaritan took the one very big risk. He was not ‘wise’, he was very ‘reckless’.

6. The Good Samaritan delayed his journey for the sake of the Wounded Man.
He made a detour to an inn, and spent the greater part of the day/night tending to this stranger he’d never met until a few hours ago.
When he was about leaving in the morning, he didn’t ask the Wounded Man to call his family to come and foot his bills.
He told the keeper to take good care of him and keep him informed of extra accruing expenses for the man’s treatment.

7. The Good Samaritan most likely had a stable income.
He was not a loafer, a layabout, a beggardly, hungry man barely struggling to survive.
It’s not glory and blessedness when you console people in need but bemoan your terrible financial status as a handicap to your good-naturedness and sincere desire to help them out.
Strive to be financially stable, if not for your sake, then for the sake of others who might need a strong finacial shoulder to lean on tomorrow.

“… Go, and do thou likewise…” implies being compassionate, being selfless, being informed, acquiring knowledge for the sake of others, being ‘foolish’ in rendering help, being unbound by cultural practices and traditional norms that obstruct the free flow of the milk of human kindness, and so on.

It implies lending a helping hand to people that might not be in the position to reward you tomorrow.
It implies helping total strangers, feeding hungry enemies, letting your compassion find expression in acts of kindness towards people buy viagra 100mg from tribes and communities hostile to yours.
It implies seeing everyone as a creature of God, as a part of the offsprings of God as much as you and I, neither elevating nor relegating anyone beyond or below our ability to help.

It implies putting ourselves in the shoes of others when the need to help arises. It implies loving the world as God loved it.
It implies allowing God to use us as tools for salvaging others from the depths of darkness and pit of destruction.

It implies being like the Good Samaritan.

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