The Danger of Doing Nothing

"So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side."
Luke 10:32 (NIV)

How often have you stepped over someone's pain because you're too busy to stop?

In Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10, a Levite approaches a beaten man on the side of the road. In ancient Judaism, a Levite was an assistant to the priest, helping in temple duties. The assistant was used to doing what you might call, "the dirty work." 

No one is around. No one would know whether he touched this man or not. But as he sizes up the situation, he just shrugs his shoulders and says, "I don't want to get involved."

This Levite might have been the assistant to a priest, walking just ahead of him, who had also just passed by, avoiding the man on the path. The Levite’s boss could be upset if he didn't stay right with him. He had jobs to do, even in Jericho. These were religious people, church-going people, people who worked in the church. But they went to the wrong side of the road because they were too busy.

Princeton University researchers repeated this story with seminary students. Students who said they wanted to help people were asked to prepare sermons, half of them on the Good Samaritan. Then an actor played the beaten man along their path to class. Only ten percent of the students who were rushing stopped to help. Our hurried culture convinces us we don’t have time to care for those who are hurting. The wrong side of the road says, "Don't do something. You don’t have time." The right side of the road says, "Don’t do nothing."

With the compassion of Jesus inside you through His Holy Spirit, you can be the one who has time to call that grieving friend, visit an elderly neighbor, or help a struggling single parent. Don’t let the sin of omission—of what you didn’t do—keep you from doing what you know God’s asking you to do today. 

Pray for opportunities, keep your eyes open, and do what you can do. 

Prayer: Lord, thank You for giving me opportunities today to live out Your compassion. Help me slow down enough to see the needs around me. Help me let go of indifference and choose compassion, even when it's inconvenient. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.