One Sunday when I taught Sunday School to teenagers, we discussed Luke 10:29-37:
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
We think that if we had come across the injured man, we would have stopped to help. Of course, we think. No question, we think. Absolutely, we think
But would we have stopped? Really?
What about those we pass every day who are injured in other ways? The homeless. The oppressed. The broken-hearted. The down-trodden.
Oh, we think we would.
But what about those who are lonely because they are different?
Poor?
Unpopular?
Mentally ill?
Alcoholic?
Drug-addicted?
Would we spare a moment or two to show kindness? Or would we figuratively cross over to the other side of the road ignoring someone’s pleading eyes?
Would we pass them by as did the priest and the Levite?
Or would we, like the Samaritan, have compassion on him? Or her?
Will we “go, and do thou likewise”?
There is so much hurt in our very own neighborhood. Often we will donate hundreds of dollars to help those in need across the world while ignoring those nearby who have need for a kind word.
This week think of 2-3 friends, relatives, acquaintances, or a stranger and decide what you can do to serve him/her. We can all do something for someone else.
A smile.
A hug.
An email, a Facebook message, Tweet, a text, a phone call or better yet a visit.
Just listen.
You’ll have many more of your own ideas.
Step outside your own circle, your own clique. Step outside of your comfort zone. There is someone you know, or don't know, who could use a helping hand. And, perhaps, a shoulder. Or two.
Will we, as the Savior admonished, “go, and do thou likewise”?
Howard W. Hunter said: "We need to remember that though we make our friends, God has made our neighbors—everywhere. Love should have no boundary; we should have no narrow loyalties" ("The Lord's Touchstone", Ensign November 1986).
What will you do?
