Luke 10:33-35 NKJV
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
When the good Samaritan saw the injured man and felt pity on him, he went all out to ensure that he was well taken care of. A wise man once said,
“if anything is worth doing, it is worth doing well!”
Sometimes when it comes to helping those in need, we want to do the bare minimum. We give what we do not need, sometimes we go as far as “giving” what we ourselves would not use because we see this as an opportunity to declutter and get rid of what we cannot use anymore. I have seen people give torn and broken things in the name of helping but it was really getting rid of what they can no longer use.
The good Samaritan was generous and he gave his best. He used his oil and wine to treat the injured man’s wounds. He bandaged him, put him on his donkey and took him to an inn and took care of him. When he had to leave he ensured there was someone to take care of the injured man and he took care of the bills. All this for a stranger.
This is a huge challenge to us to go all out when we help others and not just do the bare minimum. Remember this story was in reply to the question “Who is my neighbour?” This was right after Jesus said we should love our neighbor as ourselves.
The question we must always ask ourselves is this, ” If I was the one in this situation, what would I have desired someone to do for me?”
Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
May we be generous and not expect anything in return just like the good Samaritan.
Reflections.
When you give to those in need, do you give them your best or just the bare minimum?
When you look back at your life, are you generous or stingy? What has influenced you to be this way?
Who is your neighbor? Who needs your help and how will you help them?
