Day 188: Whose Job Is It?

Galatians 6:2

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

John 15:12

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Proverbs 3:27

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.

Luke 3:11

John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

The big question today is, whose job is it to know when our neighbor is in need, and more importantly whose job is it to act on our brother or sister’s behalf?

Before answering that question I want you to refer to the scriptures above but also to the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

The statement that stands out to me the most in that passage is in verse 33. It says, But a Samaritan as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

Compassion - a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

The prefix com- means “with”, “together”, “in association”.

The thing about compassion is, it is about our feelings toward another person. It’s not about us, it’s when our heart breaks for someone else, or rejoices for another person. Compassion is not about us, it is about our neighbor.  With that being said, where is our compassion for one another? What happened to good Samaritans? I know there are many out there, we have to step up. All of us should be like this good Samaritan. We have let our communities be so divided, and the world is filled with so much hate that we are letting our brothers and sisters hurt and die because we don’t like them, or we don’t agree with their lifestyle or it’s not our problem or responsibility. If not ours whose responsibility is it? We have allowed our selfish judgements cloud our ability to be empathetic, and it is ridiculous.

It would be great to note that Jews and Samaritans in that time did not get along, like at all. This is a rivalry that dated back to times of Joseph, centuries have passed and this battle is still standing. We can assume that the hurt man was Jewish because he was traveling from Jerusalem. But it also great to note that a Jewish priest passed him by.

Here’s what happened in a nutshell. Israel divided into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom was conquered by Assyria, the southern kingdom was captured by Babylon. Both kingdoms were taken into captivity. Jews in the northern Kingdom began to worship the idols brought over by the foreigners, along side God.  Seventy years later after being held in captivity,  a remnant of 43,000 was permitted to return to Jerusalem and rebuild. However the Samaritans who now inhabited the Northern kingdom ‘vigorously opposed the repatriation and tried to undermine the attempt to re-establish the nation’. The full-blooded, monotheistic (serving one God) Jews detested mixed marriages and the worship of their northern cousins. For this reason the Jews and Samaritans have hated each other for centuries.

I tell you the backstory to all this because in the story of the Good Samaritan, he was not concerned that this man was a Jew and that he was supposed to be at battle with him. It didn’t matter because his compassion for this hurting man was more important, it didn’t matter that he was a samaritan. It mattered that he was a man that needed help. Which brings me back to my original question,  whose job is it to know when our neighbor is in need, and more importantly whose job is it to act on our brother or sister’s behalf? It is our job, it is our responsibility to be there for our brothers and sisters in need. To have the same compassion for others that Jesus has for us. It does not matter who the person is, what lifestyle they are living, or whether we like them or not, our compassion for others must be bigger than our differences. If we see someone in need it is our job to do what we can to help. There are too many people in need and hurting for us to walk pass and ignore it, or pretend we don’t see it. What if the shoe was on the other foot? We’d want someone to help us, The bible teaches us to treat others as we want to be treated.

Let’s get to the point where we hold so much compassion in our hearts for our neighbors. That’s how we will be united as a community. When our compassion for one another forces us to put our differences aside and be there, lend a helping hand. When our compassion for one another becomes bigger than our differences, that’s when we will start to make progress. We have to look away from ourselves and our own selfish desires and selfish rules and beliefs and see someone else. Compassion will unite us.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Talk to God about what we discussed today. Ask him to give you compassion for His people your neighbors, Talk to Him about putting those differences aside, whatever they may be, and be united with our brothers and sisters.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 189!