I’ve been having an interesting e-mail conversation with a guy who found my website and is looking for a job. He e-mailed me asking about the job market here in Santa Barbara. I responded by telling him where he could find more information on an IT job that I know is open right now. His response was to ask me to try to find the hiring manager at the company with the job opening and to pass along his resume to any hiring managers I know in town. I responded with the following email:
bq. Sorry, I don’t know the hiring manager. I’m sure you can track it down on their website somewhere. I’m more of a programmer than a headhunter, but if I come across an hr person who needs an IT guy I’ll try to remember to pass along your info.
I thought that would be the end of it, but he had some thoughts on the subject:
Thanks Jason. I’m sure that the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan were not doctors either but it was only the Samaritan that did something about what he saw. And it was only the Samaritan that “loved his neighbor”. That is what is wrong with the world today, nobody seems to “love their neighbor” anymore. Except around Christmas time or maybe on their birthdays. Or after a terrorist attack. But is this really love?
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him… (Luke 10:31-33).
He raises some good questions. Good samaritan laws seem to be on the decline, and as the church we ought to be known for our mercy and compassion, especially to the outcasts and “Samaritans” of our day. But are we to help anyone who asks? How is one to have healthy boundaries and still be a good samaritan? And is it always the loving thing to do to oblige someone’s request for help? Out of pondering these questions came my response:
Thanks for putting the time into giving me your feedback. However, it concerns me that you would use Scripture to manipulate others and misinterpret it in such a harmful way.
To point this out, let me ask you a few questions. You rightly point out that as Christians we are to aid those who are in need. So, have you given aid to every person who has come knocking at your door asking for your money, time, or whatever else is solicited these days?
And what about these neighbors, so many of whom are looking for a job in your state: http://www.free-for-recruiters.com/Resumes/FL/ Are you scouring their resumes to see if you can help them land a job? If not, why? The reason you are not (I would guess), is because you have a certain interpretation of the good samaritan passage that precludes you from helping them. One of the best ways to understand Scripture is to look to other passges of Scripture for guidance. For example, we can look to Mark 8:11-13 to help us understand if we should help just anyone who comes our way. In this passage we see that Jesus refused to give the Pharisees a miraculous sign, even though they incesstantly demanded it. It seems Jesus did not help just anyone who asked and knew when a person was truly in need or they were just trying to use others for their own ends. Was Jesus not a good neighbor because he did not provide for their need for a miracle?
We can look to another parable for guidance. The parable of the talents (Luke 19:11-27) tells us that we are responsible to use wisely what God has given us. I’m sure you would agree that the talents don’t strictly refer to units of money we are to invest wisely, but rather everything God has given us: our time, energies, emotions, etc. And to tell you the truth I would find it a waste of my time and reputation as someone who is trustworthy to try and get your resume submitted to people in town when I don’t know you. Furthermore, it would be enabling what I see as fundamentally lazy behavior on your part. You are obviously more than capable of searching the web, finding useful information and doing something with it. I don’t want to be one who enables you to misuse the “talents” God has given you.
I hope these points, likewise, are well taken. And I genuinely thank you for helping me to think through these issues.
It is certainly a difficult question with no easy answers. May we not become weary in the hard task of having compassion on those in need, nor may we become complacent in learning just how we are to love our neighbors.