The Bad Samaritan: A Contemporary Parable

A well-known spiritual leader once told a story somewhat similar to this one:

Two men, an evangelical Christian and a prominent politician, were walking along a country road when they came upon a man who had been beaten and robbed. The man stretched out his hand in a plea for help.

The evangelical Christian was indignant. “This man brought this on himself! He had no business walking alone in a dangerous area like this. Now he wants us to rescue him. If we help him, we will just be encouraging his dependency, and setting a bad example for others. This country can't afford to be some kind of sugar daddy for all the world's losers!”

The influential politician agreed. “This man is a threat to our economy! If we help him, he will undoubtedly want to get a job here, which will throw one of our own citizens out of work. Not only that, but others will follow. Helping this one man will just open the floodgates, and like a swarm of locusts, foreigners will take over our country.”

So the two men set about to build a wall around the unfortunate victim, to keep him off to the side of the road and out of everyone's way.

As the two patriots began their work, another man came along – a Samaritan, an immigrant! He saw the injured man's plight, pulled him from behind the growing wall, and placed him on his own horse. Despite the protests of the patriots, he took the man to find help.

As the spiritual leader witnessed this scene, the patriots tried to convince him of the dangerous precedent that was being set. And tears began to form in his eyes.