The Good Neighbor

Recently I’ve been mulling over the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Which whether or not you are a Christ-Follower, this is a story that is essential to the fabric of humanity.

If you don’t know the parable, here is the short scoop. Basically this guy is like, “Hey Jesus what do I have to do to get eternal life?” Jesus says, “Well what do you think?” The guy responds, “Love God, and love my neighbor.” Jesus is like, “Word. You know what’s up.” So then the guy asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Now this is where it gets goooood. Jesus proceeds to tell a story about this guy who is on his way to Jericho and gets jumped by a bunch of hooligans. Now, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was pretty sketchy, not somewhere one would like to be. Lots of corners for people to hide behind.

So, this guy is beat up pretty bad and three people walk by him on this road. The first is a Priest and the second a Levite, both of which walk by without even acknowledging the wounded man. But the third, a Samaritan (not very high up on the social chain), stopped and not only bandaged this guy up on the spot but took him to an inn, continued to care for him until he, the Samaritan, had to continue on his journey, and offered to pay for whatever remaining care was needed. After Jesus tells the story, he asks the guy, “So, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell at the hands of the robber?” The man replies, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Now, if you know me, then you’d know that MLK J.R. has been extremely impactful in shaping my ideologies and my general attitude towards people. I will be using a lot of his ideas because I think that they are still relevant and applicable to today. (Seriously people, read “Strength to Love.” It’s pretty legit)

This is what is so awesome about the Good Samaritan, while others would have asked themselves, “What will happened to me if I help this man?” (because like I said the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was nutty, people got robbed and junk there all the time. This guy could have been faking in order to rob the Samaritan). Rather the Samaritan asked himself, “What will happen to this man if I don’t stop to help him.” The Samaritan was frickin’ legit because as King puts it, “he made concern for others the first law of his life.” However, it was more than simply just that. The Samaritan did not pay attention to the external attributes of the man; he cared for him indiscriminately. King states it this way, “ The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all [people] human and, therefore, brothers.”

Let me restate what the good man MLK said,“ The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all [people] human and, therefore, brothers.” I like that King calls them “accidents.”

Why is it so essential to look beyond the “external accidents.” Simply put, it is essential to look beyond the external accidents that differentiate people because once those traits become the defining factor, people are clumped together and become “them.” That is the thing that is most frustrating, the rigid delineation of “us” and “them.” Once classified as “the other,” we strip people of their humanity, the same humanity that causes one to treat another humanely. It’s a tactic that has been used since the dawn of man. How do you think slavery subsisted for so long, the oppression of women, The Holocaust, The millions of people who’ve died because they were not apart of “us” etc. etc. etc.?

There are those who will continue to condemn and ostracize the homosexual population, marginalize illegal immigrants, the poor, the addicted, the minority. That is unfortunate. But for the rest of us (ha…I just made a delineation between us and them ☺) King states, “It is not enough to aid the wounded man on the Jericho Road; It is also important to change the conditions which make robbery possible.” Lastly we must never forget this: “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” MLK Jr.

There are certain conditions in place that make the proliferation of discrimination, prejudice, and marginalization possible and even profitable.

I am not claiming to know the answers to these problems. I most certainly don’t know the answers; but, I know this: When I get to the end of my life and have to answer to God, I’d rather he judge me for being too liberal in my ideologies than for being too conservative in my love.