BBD 07.27.06 Not My Problem
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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07.27.06
Not My Problem
Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed
Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they
heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, Have mercy
on us, O Lord, Son of David! Then the multitude warned them
that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more,
saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David! So Jesus
stood still and called them, and said, What do you want Me to
do for you? They said to Him, Lord, that our eyes may be
opened. So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And
immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. -
Matthew 20:29-34.
Near West Milford, West Virginia at a dam, a dead cow became
caught on a tree branch. The dead cow did what dead cows do, it
began to decay and it did so for several weeks. Five
governmental organizations or jurisdictions refused the many
requests from those who lived nearby for something to be done.
The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources could have
done something but alas, they only have the authority to act in
the case of wild animals. The West Virginia Department of
Environmental Protection checked out the situation and
determined there was no apparent ecological threat. The
Agriculture Department declared the issue to be local in
nature. A Water Board also felt that it should be handled by
local authorities. Thankfully, some local volunteer
firefighters and some Highway Department workers decided to
take care of the problem.
On a day long ago, Jesus was walking out of the city of Jericho
when two blind men began shouting at Him. Jesus asked them what
they wanted and they responded that they wanted their eyes to
be healed. The Bible records that Jesus had compassion on them
and healed them. However, Jesus was not required to give
compassion. He could have looked at them while he continued
walking and simply said, Thats not my problem. He could have
but He didnt.
There does seem to be something in us as human beings that
wants to avoid complications of any kind. The incident with the
dead cow is typical of many when confronted with avoidable
problems. The typical response is Thats not my problem. Our
desire to avoid such complications has required many states to
enact laws requiring that motorists involved in accidents to
stop and render aid. It was necessary because many people would
simply drive off to avoid a ticket or other complications from
an accident.
Of course, all of this brings to mind the story of the Good
Samaritan. If you remember, the story (Luke 10) robbers
attacked a man leaving him to die along the road. A couple of
religious people passed by that would have been expected to
stop and render aid. The priest and the Levite must have both
said, Thats not my problem as they passed by. The Samaritan
was the only one who stopped and demonstrated compassion. As a
result of rendering aid, the Samaritan experienced some
complications. Rendering aid resulted in the Samaritan exposing
himself to possible danger from the same robbers who had left
the man half-dead; it caused a major loss of time, and the
expenditure of funds to assure the care of the wounded man.
There are so many situations when encountered in life that we
are tempted to say, Thats not my problem. However, as
Christians who know the example of Jesus we are called upon to
render compassion even when it may result in complications. We
should always remember that Jesus saw us in trouble in our sins
and He did not say, Thats not my problem. No, He took time
out from the glories of Heaven to come down here to Earth for
some thirty years to live a perfect life in a difficult time,
becoming the perfect sacrifice while dying on the cross on our
behalf. Talk about complications!
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