Are you making excuses?

By Todd Barrier  

In our series about how to be a good neighbor, based on the story of the Good Samaritan, we have seen that a good neighbor doesn’t ignore someone in need; a good neighbor doesn’t deny that someone is in need; and a good neighbor has compassion.  

As we look at the story, we see a couple of other things. This week we look at how a neighbor doesn’t have a qualifying list of prerequisites.  

In Luke 10:33, it says when the Samaritan saw the man, he had compassion, and that compassion became action.  

We have already seen a Levite and a priest pass him by. Obviously, they had limitations or qualifiers on whether or not they would help someone in need.  

We see many things that might have kept the Samaritan away, like the others. The robbers could still be nearby. It would take a lot of time to help – and his time was, I’m sure, precious to him, just as ours is. It would also take a lot of his resources to help. To top it off, the man was basically a sworn enemy because of his nationality.  

Despite all of this, the Samaritan helped!  

Sometimes we think of reasons not to be a good neighbor. We place pre-qualifications on whether someone is worthy of our help – instead of springing to action like the Samaritan man. 

Are you a good neighbor, or are you making excuses?