Lazy Thinking
I am reminded of the story of the good Samaritan. You know, the parable Jesus told about a man from Jerusalem who was traveling to Jericho and was mugged and left for dead. The story tells us a priest and a Levite both not only passed him by, but crossed the road as they passed so they did not have to see him up close. Then Jesus tells of a Samaritan who saw the injured man, helped him on his beast, took him to an Inn, paid for his stay, and nursed him back to health. It is a good story, and the phrase “Good Samaritan” has been used to describe altruistic men and women who do good things for strangers. I believe, however, there is something else we can learn from this story.
Let’s look at the reason Jesus told this parable. A lawyer, looking to test Jesus, asked Him how to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked what the Law says, and he responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27 NASB). However, the lawyer asks the question, “who is my neighbor”, to justify how he has treated others. This is when Jesus answers His question by telling the story of the Samaritan. This story is revolutionary at the time because of the relationship the Jewish people had with the Samaritans at the time. As the scripture said in John 4:9, the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans.
The relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans was not a good one. The rift in the relationship dated all the way back before the separation of the Kingdoms of Israel. The Samaritans were not considered to be faithful to the commands of God because the men mingled, and married women of other nations, and religions. The Jews no longer saw the Samaritans as brothers, and sisters, but mongrels. When Jesus told this parable, He made the Samaritan the “hero” of the story. To the audience He taught, this would have been an unusual story. The point Jesus was making is, even the person you hate, and the one you considered different from you and yours, is worthy of your love, and concern. I believe another point this story makes is, no matter the race, or background, we cannot judge a book by it’s cover. It was the religious, “pure” Jewish men in the story who had no compassion on the victim, but it was the Samaritan who did. The answer to the question, “which one is your neighbor” was contrary to popular opinion of Samaritans. It ran counter to the stereotype of the time.
Attributing stereotypes to different races is common. Have you heard some of these: “White people have no rhythm,” “black people loves chicken and watermelon,” “Asians are good at math,” or “Jews are good with money.” These are stereotypes that are common in the minds of many Americans regardless of their race. Stereotypes have even crept into politics. For example, “all republicans are heartless, and all democrats are bleeding hearts. Many people today do not see people who are different from them as individuals with hopes, dreams, fears, or concerns. They only see them as the enemy, and the enemy is always like the picture we have of them in our head. This way of thinking is lazy, and does not consider the nuances of a person’s point of view. It is lazy because it is easy for us to just assume someone has a certain point of view because they are stingy, or lazy, rather than to take the time to understand others.
This lazy thinking also effects how we treat others, and the amount of grace we give to others. People seem to be less empathetic to those they consider an enemy. Some are even less empathetic to those they consider different. The sad thing about the people of Israel and their view of Samaritans was, Samaritans blood was just as “diluted” as the Israelites after they came back from exile in Babylon. However, it was easier to simply hate the Samaritans because of their past.
Are you guilty of lazy thinking? Have you ever automatically judged a person by their appearance, their sexuality, their religion or lack thereof, or by their political affiliation? How do we do better? How do we treat one another better? How do we understand each other? How do we truly love one another? Maybe the moral to the parable is a key to fight against this lazy thinking. Maybe we need to start judging people, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., by the content of their character. The lawyer in the scripture rightly said the Samaritan was the neighbor. This is because the story forced the hearer to see a Samaritan in another light. The parable challenged lazy thinking and made the hearer think beyond their biases. Jesus is teaching us to love one another better by thinking beyond our biases.
