If you passed by someone in need, would you stop to help or would you leave it to another to do the morally correct thing?

In a conversation with someone over the weekend, she was talking about the state of peoples’ hearts and motives now.  She said she notices people not being as compassionate towards others as in the past and stated that it grieves her heart.  

After leaving her Saturday, I came upon a situation that proved her point.  I happened to be traveling behind a SUV that rear-ended the car in front of him.  The car the SUV hit ran off the road and hit a signpost.  I immediately pulled over to assist both drivers.  Surprisingly, not another soul stopped to offer help…not one.  Car after car slowed down to gawk at the accident, however.  Someone who passed by knew CPR.  Someone who passed by could have offered to call 911.  Someone who passed by could have offered their first aid kit or car’s fire extinguisher.  

This by far is not an isolated incident.  However, have we become so consumed with our own day-to-day circumstances and self-importance that we do not notice others anymore?  Have we become (some folks) such an apathetic lot that our mantra needs to be “I Think of Myself First”?

We all have troubles in this life but I believe that if we do not actively look to help someone else out on a daily basis without thinking what’s in it for our own sakes, we have missed an excellent opportunity to practice love and compassion.  After all, that’s one way we should look to express our faith, I believe.  We are all interconnected whether we want to believe it or not.  

"And so the first question that the priest asked, the first question that the Levite asked was, If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But then the Good Samaritan came by and he reversed the question.  “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

                                                       Martin Luther King

Vocab Word of the Week 

Adonai-This is a variation of the Hebrew word Adon and is transliterated in English as "Lord."  Adonai is used 439 times in the Bible.  This word stresses God's relationship to man as God being master, authoritarian, provider.  We, as God's servants, can expect Him (master) to rule over us, as we give Him our complete obedience.  When we allow Him this position, we can expect Him to provide for all our needs without worry.  Adonai is first used in Genesis 15:2 and is found used many times in Isaiah, Daniel (Chapter 9) and in Ezekiel.