Inconvenient And Insensitive


And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 
Luke 10:34 KJV

We've all often heard the parable of the good Samaritan and every time the priest and the Levite are shamed due to their actions. However, their actions have some cultural context that will help us to understand the reason why they left a man to die. Jesus set the scene on the road that went from Jerusalem to Jericho. Jericho was a vacation spot for the wealthy in Jerusalem. Therefore, many robbers and thieves would have been waiting on this road to see who they might attack. This road was also most commonly known as the valley of the shadow of death, so seeing a man beaten and left for dead was probably a common occurrence. Also, if the priest and the Levite would have stopped to help and potentially touched a dead man, that would have required a week-long purification process and greatly inconvenienced them and their families. Insensitivity is often the enemy of compassionate action. 

Question to ponder: Who around us needs us to be inconvenienced if that's what it takes to help them in their time of need?

Today's Devotional written by Brother Samuel Lantion.

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