Good Samaritan, Innkeeper, Levite, or Thief?

Most of us are at least vaguely familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan. For those who aren't, a Jew is traveling down a road and gets robbed and beaten up, then left for dead. A priest and then a Levite both come by and pass on the other side of the road. Then a Samaritan comes and binds the man's wounds, takes him to an inn, and pays the innkeeper to take care of the man until he returns.

Aside from the victim, there are four types of people in the story. First, there are the thieves, who want something for nothing. They simply take from the man and don't care about him at all.

Then there is the priest and Levite, who are essentially the same character. They want nothing for nothing. They don't hurt the man, but they don't help him, either. They gain nothing and lose nothing.

Then there is the innkeeper, who is willing to help the man, but only for something in return. He wants something for something.

Lastly, there is the Good Samaritan, who wants nothing for something. He loses money and time in helping the man and doesn't get anything in return. It's also important to note that Samaritans and Jews didn't get along. If there was anyone who should have passed by on the other side, or even rejoiced at the other man's misfortune, it was the Samaritan, but he's the only one who cares.

We all play each of these roles at times. Hopefully, we don't play the thief too often, but let's face it: sometimes our own selfish interests make us not care what happens to the other person, particularly if we believe they're wrong or somehow inferior to us or if we're hurting badly at the time.

Perhaps most often, we play the priest and Levite. We drive right past someone on the highway whose car has broken down or walk right past the homeless person. We see commercials on TV for starving children in Africa and change the channel to a football game because it's more entertaining. Or, in perhaps a more everyday context, we see that someone in our office is hurting, but don't bother to find out what's wrong.

When we do happen to do what's right, there almost always seems to be a bit of innkeeper in us. Even when we know we're not going to get paid in money, we want something, be it recognition from others, respect, some credit in our heavenly account that we can use against God, or even to get a certain someone to notice us. We're all looking for ways we can be rewarded here on earth for what we're doing.

Rarely, when God works through us, we can do something from a pure motive. Even then, it's hard to not let innkeeper thoughts in, but such thoughts can be resisted. We can be truly generous as God wants us to be.

One thing that helps me sometimes is to remember that I don't own a darn thing. Everything I have - from my car to my laptop to my socks to my next breath - all are essentially loans from God. I've been given a stewardship over them and an account will be required of me on how I've used them. If these things are not mine to begin with, it makes parting with them a little easier. It also helps me focus my trust on God when I realize that all that I have is because He has seen fit to provide it.

Let go of what you're holding on so tightly to. It was never really yours to begin with.