Lawful, Yet Sinful

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.”

Luke 10:31

Sometime in 2019, I was driving to work in Lagos, Nigeria, around 6 am. It was quite dark. Driving out of my neighbourhood (which back in the day wasn’t exactly the safest), I saw a young man walking, probably to the nearest bus stop. The Holy Spirit instructed me to give him a ride.

Letting a stranger into my car at such an hour seemed like a recipe for trouble. I drove past the young man twice before finally gathering the courage to obey the Spirit. Guess what? His office was just a stone’s throw from mine! I believe I was God’s answer to this man’s prayer that morning. But here’s the thing: no one would have blamed me if I had decided otherwise. In fact, every reasonable person would agree I did the right thing. However, my action, while good, wouldn’t have necessarily been pleasing to God.

My story reflects on what happened on the road to Jericho in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Yesterday, we discussed the Samaritan’s strange act of saving the dying man. But there were two others who passed by and did nothing. The bible says “A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side (Luke 10:31-32). 

Ordinarily, I might call these men irresponsible – it is very ‘unpriestly’ and ‘unlevitical.’ But on second thought, would any reasonable person have blamed them? Imagine seeing a brutally beaten man, half-dead. Thoughts would fly through your head: ‘What if the criminals are hiding? What if he’s not the victim?’ Even without questions, there could be excuses. For the priest, I can think of a few: ‘I don’t know first aid,’ ‘I need to get to the temple for service,’ ‘It’s a hopeless case; I can pray for him.’ These are perfectly reasonable questions and excuses, but as Charles Spurgeon said, ‘I never knew a man who refused to help the poor who failed to give at least one admirable excuse.’

If we’re ever to love like Jesus, we can’t begin with logic or reason. It must start with looking at Him, listening to Him, and acting as He instructs, whether it makes sense or not. Otherwise, we’ll miss opportunities to show true love, and our actions, though seemingly logical to attract the applause of men, might lead to disappointment from heaven. It’s time to start loving like Jesus.

PRAYER