Read Luke 10:37
Kitty Genovese was brutally attacked late one night as she returned to her apartment. She screamed and shrieked as she fought for her life for 30 minutes. Thirty-eight people watched the half-hour episode from their windows with rapt fascination. Not one called the police. Kitty died that night as 38 witnesses stared in silence.
Andrew Mormile’s experience was similar. Riding on a subway, the 17-year-old youth was minding his own business when he was stabbed repeatedly in the stomach by attackers. Eleven riders watched the stabbing, but none came to assist the young man. Even after the thugs had fled and the train had pulled out of the station, as he lay in a pool of his own blood, no one came to his side.
Less dramatic but equally shocking was the ordeal of Eleanor Bradley. While shopping on Fifth Avenue in busy Manhattan, this lady fell and broke her leg. In shock, she called out for help. Not for two minutes. Not for 20 minutes. But 40 minutes, shoppers and business executives, students and merchants walked around her and stepped over her, completely ignoring her cries. After literally hundreds had passed by, a cab driver finally pulled over, hauled her into his taxi, and took her to a local hospital.
How can we explain the gross lack of involvement in our world today, especially among Christians?
Take a few minutes and read the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. Jesus tells us to “Go and do the same” (Luke 10:37) for those we may find in need. Consider going out on a limb: ask God to let you help someone in urgent distress in the immediate future. Be sensitive and stay alert. He’s going to answer your request!
Random acts of compassion are always appreciated. Be ready to reach out.
Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord...Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.
The full devotional can be purchased at https://www.tyndale.com/p/good-morning-lord-can-we-talk/9781414380681.
