What do a snake bite, a broken wheel, a sunburn, and a stinky pickup have in common? Well before this week, probably nothing. I am sure most of you could relate to one or more of those items, but probably not all at the same time. As it turns out the common denominator was that these were all the side effects of helping a friend. Let me explain.
Last week Saturday I had the pleasure of joining a group of individuals that traveled to Sioux Falls to assist with work at the home of Rick & Joy Dawson. The request had gone out to the congregation and I am grateful for the twenty plus people that gave of their Saturday to help a brother and sister in need. The snake bite occurred in the midst of the work… mostly. The youngsters discovered early on that there were snakes in the back yard and several volunteers (particularly me) were not keen on working next to reptiles. The snakes we encountered grew in size and after some fun and taunting, the ‘daddy’ snake tried to inflict some pain on his young handler. The blood was minimal and to my delight, the snake was released into the bordering corn field not to be seen again.
The rest of this series of unfortunate events occurred after the group enjoyed the satisfaction of a job well done and many words of gratitude and appreciation. A wheel on one of the trailers broke off at the gas station on the way home and the pink color on several necks and arms intensified as the day went on. The stinky pickup wasn’t apparent until Tuesday when the bunny that the youngsters had been playing with was discovered on the back seat. Needless to say, there was one casualty and a disgusted pickup owner.
As I recalled these events, I began thinking about the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. The familiar story depicts how we should love our neighbor as our self and show mercy to those around us, but I wondered about the unwritten part of Jesus’s example. Children’s books picture the Good Samaritan as a light hearted young man who was just tickled to offer assistance to a perfect stranger, but really? He was obviously very generous and offered to pay for the man’s care, but what about the incidentals of helping someone. Do you suppose he counted the cost as he approached the man in the ditch the same way I do when I see a hitch hiker on the side of the road? Do you suppose he weighed the pros and cons of his decision before he dismounted his donkey? Do you think he tried to ignore his conscience and pretend he didn’t see the need?
There’s an old proverb that says “no good deed goes unpunished”. In other words, even good actions may have unforeseen bad consequences. But does that release us from the compulsion to help somebody? Remember Jesus said things were going to be different with his followers – “not so with you”. The proverbs in God’s word offers a contrasting perspective to the viewpoint of the world. Proverbs 3:27 says “Whenever you are able, do good to people who need help” and Proverbs 21:26 says “Good people give without holding back.” In today’s society we even have laws to protect the Good Samaritan because we don’t want people to be reluctant to help a stranger in need for fear of legal repercussions.
So regardless of problems that we might encounter in reaching out to a fellow child of God, it is still more blessed to give than to receive. Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. Pressed down, shaken together, and running over, it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.” Let us give and live generously!
Erin Jacobsma