Ok, so this will be my first non-technical blog post. Should be fun writing about something more personal. I'm writing about being a Good Samaritan. Before I start my little rant, I want to quote some scripture, which is the story told by Jesus about the "Good Samaritan". So, Luke 10:25-37:
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.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.
So Jesus has called us to be Good Samaritans. So here's what has me going. Thursday, I was on my way home with my son, who was eating his dinner in the van because we were short on time that day. Now I'm already running late, and we get into some traffic, and I'm pretty mad about it. So it turns out, this 1/2 mile worth of backed up traffic is due to people breaking their necks to see why a car is pulled over onto the side of the road. This always gets my feathers ruffled, because my thought is either drive, or pull over and help. So as I'm driving by, looks like a car pulled over, no obvious signs of an accident. Couldn't even really tell if anyone was in the car. So after I drive by, I take a look in my rearview, and the window is completely smashed. It looked like someone had cracked their head on it. I immediately pulled over, got out and went over. She said she was fine, and a state police officer came up as I was walking to the car, but let me tell you, I'm absolutely SHOCKED that nobody bothered to even stop to check on this women. People will take the time to drive 10 MPH on an interstate to see what happened, but are in too much of a rush to get out and help someone. There were *NO* first responders there. I can see not stopping if there's police/fire/medical there, but there was no-one.
So, that's the end of my rant. I also want to mention though, many years ago, a couple came along that helped me in a time of need. I was walking home in blizzard like conditions, and this couple actually stopped to not only pick me up, but went about 15 miles out of their way to bring me home. It was my own stupidity that I was walking in the first place, but these people took time out of their day, to help a kid in need (I was a teenager). Fast forward about 5 years later or so. I had the opportunity to help someone else in the same way, and if it wasn't for that couple, I probably wouldn't have stopped. Two guys were walking along I-95 in Rhode Island. It was pretty late at night. I didn't know it at the time but they were in the Navy. They were coming back from the airport, and their van had broken down about a mile back. When I picked them up, they were so happy, and it felt so great to help someone in need. They talked about how they were from down south, and that where they were from, you couldn't walk 10 feet before someone would pull over to pick you up, and how shocked they were that it took that long for someone to stop. The wanted to pay me, and I refused, for 3 reasons. First, I was already going to Groton, so it was only a few miles out of my way, but also because they were from our country's military. I also got to share my story with them from years earlier that I had forgotten until I saw them stranded. That couple when I had offered them money for gas also refused, and told me some day if I saw someone that needed help, that I should help them also. Kind of like in the movie "Pay it Forward". It felt so good helping those two guys, for many reasons.
So the moral of the story I suppose, is that we should all be Good Samaritans. It doesn't take much to touch the lives of others. You have no idea how much it can change someone's life by just lending a helping hand in a time of need. So for anyone out there reading this, next time you see someone on the side of the road, take a few minutes of your time, and see if they need some help, instead of just causing a traffic jam.....
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