Am I really a good Samaritan?

The parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-35 reads... 

"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."

At times I have wondered how someone can walk by and not help a hurt man. In my heart of hearts I hope that I would help. In the last month I have had experiences that have made me wonder "Am I really a good Samaritan? Can I do better?" 

I recently had an experience where I was left wounded emotionally and mentally. I was victim to some very unkind words. There were many people who witnessed this abuse and thought it was wrong. For weeks I prayed that one of those who witnesses this would step up and support me and those prayers went mostly unanswered for weeks. I don't know if anyone corrected this person besides me and my husband, but I was mostly left to deal with this on my own. I won't say those prayers went entirely unanswered because the Lord did let me know that he heard my prayers and he answered them in His own quiet way. However, I surely would have loved the same care and nurturing that was shown to the good Samaritan. 

As some of this problem has been openly discussed a comment was made that others didn't want to get involved. I understand protecting yourself and because of that it's not hard for me to forgive but the response leads me to ask a question. Is this not the same as the priest or the Levite walking by? Maybe I am wrong, but I feel it is still a good question to consider. How often do I stay out of it when perhaps I could stand with someone and lend support? Often doing what it right is uncomfortable and takes great courage. With the Lord's help we can have that courage.

A friend of mine taught me by example. She shared an experience the other day that I've been given permission to share. These are her words, "While meeting my family for some Mother’s Day top golf fun, I stopped a man who was attacking his wife. After getting out of my car I overheard a man violently yelling. I followed my gut and walked toward the yelling. I soon realized it was much more. I watch this man screaming in the face of his wife and push her around so violently that she looked like a rag doll under his force. I sprang into action by getting close enough to make a stance but far enough to not be hurt. I yelled, ‘I’m calling the police, don’t you touch her again!’ He started screaming ‘I want a divorce’ but backed away and left in his car. The woman seemed slightly shaken but almost unfazed and very thankful and asked to be on her way. I couldn’t do anything more. It’s frightening to think what happens behind closed doors and I can only pray she gets away." 

I wondered if I would have the courage to do what she did. I don't believe I have ever been in that kind of situation, but maybe I have and thought "I don't want to get involved or it's non of my business." At the end of her post she wrote "Don’t be afraid to speak out against abuse and other wrong doings!" She is right. We should stand up against that which is wrong.


Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." How often does our gut tell us to do something, but fear motivates us to do nothing?  In church a few weeks before all of this I heard the scripture in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." My friend in her courage showed the power to stop this abuse, her love for a fellow life traveler whom she didn't know, and a sound mind to act without putting herself in harms way. I admire her for her courage. It is my prayer that I can follow her example.

None of us are perfect. I know I am not. I hope and pray that I can be courageous enough to listen when the Lord instructs me to open my mouth or to bind up someone's wounds whether emotional, mental, spiritual or physical. I'll close these thoughts with the wise words of *Margaret D. Nadauld, which apply to both women and men. "The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

*https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/the-joy-of-womanhood?lang=eng
Photo credit to https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-10-010-parable-of-the-good-samaritan?lang=eng