The Misguided Samaritan

Originally published on the Musings Blog

The priest and the Levite may have gotten a bum rap! I refer to the story Jesus told of the two religious leaders who passed a wounded traveler on the side of the road apparently without offering any help. A well intentioned Samaritan comes along and helps the man by bandaging him up, taking him to an inn, and paying his expenses. Jesus makes the Samaritan the hero of this story. But could it be the Samaritan settled for meeting an immediate need while ignoring the scope of the real need?

Consider: Should the Samaritan really have stopped? Was that really the most strategic use of his time? Maybe the Samaritan didn’t really care. Maybe he just wanted to do that which is easiest and leave the bigger problem for others.

If the Samaritan really cared about roadside assistance, would it not have been more effective to organize an emergency roadside assistance response team, train them in how to care for those in trouble on the road, and send them out to help each and every person traveling and not just the one? Was this man somehow more worthy than the many others who travel and find themselves in need? Is it right to ignore the scope of the need while tending to the one?

How do we know that the priest or the Levite, in response to a heartfelt compassion for the wounded man, didn’t organize a fund raising dinner in the next town in order to fund an emergency roadside assistance team? Could it be their experience in leading organizations gave them an appreciation for strategic thinking which helped them think outside the box of how you would normally help someone dying on the side of the road? Could it be their vision for helping victims of robbers far exceeded that of the Samaritan?

Isn’t it likely that the priest and Levite possessed some discernment that the Samaritan lacked – they saw that this man was too beaten and hurting to be of any help in reaching others. He didn’t appear to be an influencer (apparently he was traveling alone), and it would take some time before he was in any kind of shape to help other roadside victims. Clearly it’s a better use of resources to leave cases such as this one to those with the proper medical training. The priest and Levite may very well have understood that leaders work with sharp people in order to multiply their influence and make a greater impact. In this way all victims of roadside robbers can be reached, not just a few here and there.

I used to feel guilty for passing stranded motorist on the side of the road. But now that I’ve reflected more deeply on this story I’ve seen that me stopping to help would only be a hindrance to the greater cause of Christ as I would be distracted from the strategic mission God has called me to.

So let’s call him the Nice Samaritan, or the Well-Intentioned Samaritan, but not the Good Samaritan. Clearly he didn't care enough to be called good. It seems all he cared about was the fact that the man had a need and he was in a position to meet that need. Such pious and simplistic “love your neighbor as yourself” kind of thinking will never cut it if we’re serious about reaching the world for Christ.