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Perhaps you grew up like I did with an old saying your parents taught you? It went something like this: "Never put off until tomorrow what you should do today". I can't remember whether this was said to me directly as a child or to my brother or sister, or to all 3 of us collectively. It's not important now, but what is important is that we follow sage advice we can find in our bibles. That advice of course comes from our loving heavenly Father who gives to us His wisdom so that we can make the best choices for ourselves, and others.
God gives us plenty of examples within His Word of how He would like us to react to others in need. One such example is found in Luke 10:25-37. This scripture contains the parable of the Good Samaritan. We may recall that some were not willing to help the one who was in need, but yet, there was someone who did help. Are we like the one who helped the victim of abuse?
Doing good to others is what is expected from us. In Proverbs 3:27-30 we can read "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbour, "Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it", when you have it with you. Do not devise evil against your neighbour, for he dwells by you for safety's sake. Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm". Also, in Matthew 7:12 "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets". The parallel verse to this is found in Luke 6:31. From these verses "The Golden Rule" came to be known to humanity.
The young man asked for help
As I left work one day and travelled home I made a stop along the way at some local shops. Getting back into my car a slightly dishevelled young man approached me before I drove away. I cautiously opened my window slightly as I was unsure of what his intentions were. He was holding a DVD and a prescription for medicine. Due to the odd circumstance I only heard some of what he was saying because I was so taken aback. He wanted some money to fill the prescription he held. Somewhat relieved I told him rightly that I had no cash on me and rarely had any in my wallet. He retreated immediately quite disappointed with his head down. I drove away relieved that I came to no harm.
Analysing what had just happened as I arrived home I had to admit I could have handled this situation much better than I had. All sorts of thoughts were jumping about in my head. I was just so surprised and unprepared for what had transpired that I "froze" in fear. I thought he may have tried to harm me, steal my car, even jump in my car and hitch a ride with me somewhere I did not want to go.
Somewhat ironically, for the last few weeks I have been thinking about how to do good to others and reflected on the scenario of the Good Samaritan previously mentioned. I always suspected that I would be rather afraid of helping the man who had been stripped, beaten and left for dead in this scripture. In these modern times I had things sorted in my head of what I could sensibly do, all of which gave me comfort. For instance I could use my mobile phone and ring for an ambulance, police or someone else such as their family to come and help them. It's not so much that I didn't want to help, it's more about keeping myself safe while helping a stranger.
Now faced with such an opportunity of being asked for help, I faltered. I allowed fear to separate me from wanting to do good. Why didn't I ask to see the script? As a qualified nurse I would instantly recognise the doctor's orders on that piece of paper. Maybe he needed antibiotics for an infection? Strong pain relief for something awful such as cancer? He did look rather pale and thin. Suddenly I felt ashamed and quite upset. On the other hand, maybe he was lazy, collected government handouts and lived off tax payers? Many do. I reasoned back and forth with myself until I couldn't bear it any longer and took it all to God. I asked for forgiveness for being hard hearted towards a neighbour and someone less fortunate than myself. I remember he did look worried at the time. I know I would be devastated at asking for help and would be so grateful if someone did give me the benefit of the doubt for much needed medicine.
Now I have to live with my decision and there is no way to go back and be able to help this man. I should have at least asked him some intelligent questions such as when did the doctor give him this script and is it for himself or someone else? I could have asked to look at the script to verify his name, address and details. I could have gone into the chemist shop and paid with my credit card. If he was on benefits the script would have only been a few dollars. The sum of money to me was of no consequence. It was broad daylight, in the afternoon; we were in a public place with people about. It really was not a dangerous situation by any means. And yet, I froze in fear.
Learning from the perfect example of Jesus Christ
Instead of being unprepared, fearful or worried about ourselves, what is God trying to teach us from the parable of the Good Samaritan? If we look at verse 33 we can see that this contains the word compassion. "And when he saw him, he had compassion on him". That would be an outward focus not an inward focus. Instead of being worried about myself I should have been focused on the young man. There are many Scriptures in the Gospel record about how Christ felt compassion and what He did about that. Just a few examples are found in Mark 1:40-45, Mark 8:1-10, and Matthew 9:35-38.
In 1 John 4:18 we can read "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love".
Perfect love is something I need to pray for. I know if a female had approached me I would not have had that same fear as we would be more evenly matched if something untoward happened. I think another issue is, the news contains so many examples of gangs and groups of thugs jumping out from behind bushes or lurking around corners just ready to pounce on an unsuspecting good Samaritans. We do live in perilous times. There was a particularly difficult incident a while back as terrorism manifested itself in Australia with a siege in Sydney from a self-professed ISIS extremist. And yet the two people who were killed by the terrorist were helping those who escaped by protecting two women who were pregnant and were possibly unable to get out quickly like the others. The lady who died had 3 young children herself. These two young people are heroes. They may have been quite fearful but that did not stop them from helping those with needs.
So should I be fearful? No. Learning from this is important and having a plan of asking questions to rightly discern the need, rather than just rashly taking off, is a good start. Praying for protection before each journey would also be wise. Praying when faced with the situation and being willing to help others in need is what would please our Father. After all, Christ came to show us how to extend mercy and He did not withhold healing or mercy to others even if they were undeserving. The example of ten lepers cleansed but only one returned to thank Jesus, comes to mind. Interestingly he was a Samaritan as well (Luke 17:11-19). I would do well if I put Luke 12:4-5 into my heart and mind. To fear God rather than man.
As we have opportunity we should be wise, discerning, prudent, and act on these little windows of opportunity in order to grow in love towards others. Always be alert and in prayer to God who will help us and protect us when we ask Him. For tomorrow we may no longer be in the position of doing good to anyone.