Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Luke 6:31

In my last post I wrote about slipping and falling, face-first, onto the concrete apron of the pool at the Aquatic Center. What I didn’t tell you is that there were two people in the pool who saw me fall. Neither of them got of the pool. They didn’t try to help me or get the staff to help me or call 911. They stayed in the water. Offering nothing. Maybe watching. Maybe not caring. Maybe being glad it wasn’t them. I don’t know.

I attempted to get up twice but couldn’t. The blow to my head was severe. My entire body was in shock. My nose was pouring blood. I waved my arm, trying to get the attention of someone in the reception area, just beyond the glass doors, but was unsuccessful. 

I was in desperate need of help. I’m not young. I have a head full of silver hair and four grandchildren.

What were the people in the pool thinking? Earlier, I had chatted with them as I had done many times before, and yet they chose to remain in the waster without offering one iota of charity. 

Being helpless and knowing someone is passively and selfishly watching you lie on the cold concrete and suffer—or possibly die—is indescribable. It’s heartbreaking. It’s a tragic commentary on today’s society.

One question ran through my mind. Why? 

Truly, I say to you. As you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me. Matthew 25:40

Jesus said to him, Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all they heart, and all they soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and the great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. Matthew 22: 37-39

We need only study the story of the Good Samaritan to discover Jesus’ teaching about who is our neighbor and how we should treat him. Both a priest and a Levite passed by an injured man going down from Jerusalem who had been “set upon by thieves,” but the Samaritan, an outsider, stopped to bind his wounds, carry him to an inn, and even provide for his future care. 

Jesus was very specific in his instructions to us. 

Go thou and do likewise. Luke 10:37

During the endless five minutes I was lying at the poolside, injured, before someone in the front office happened to spot me and the ambulance carried me off, the two in the pool watched and still did nothing. 

My broken nose and bruised face and body are healing, but I’m struggling to come to terms with their inhumanity—a total lack of concern or action.  I’ve seen more compassion in animals. Our very humanity is defined, not only by intelligence, but also by our compassion, our moral responsibility, and our ability to foresee consequences and make good choices. 

This post is my battle cry to never, ever lose sight of our moral responsibility. Never lose our humanity. 

Be strong in faith. Be a warrior. Stand up and proclaim your Christianity, not just by your attendance in church or your prayers or the easy one-and-done phrase, I’m praying for you. Put legs to your prayers. Help the injured. Provide for those in need. Pick up the phone and call to see how you can help the sick. Care, truly care, for the injured, the lost, the isolated, the lonely, and the brokenhearted.  Be a good Samaritan.

Peggy Webb