By: N. George
Worth Noting:
- It is worth to note that a priest had passed by, saw the wounded man but decided to pass on the other side of the road to avoid helping him or even coming close to him. A levite also had passed on that road and behaved in a similar version to that of the priest.
- Much as both the priest and the levite had not been humane enough to assist the injured man the Samaritan came to his aid becoming the kind of the two categories of people.
- No man should think that he lives completely independent of others if he does so he fails to have characteristics of human being who requires being rational and possessing passion to support others.
It is my considered opinion that the human race (soi disant) is cruel, idiotic, sentimental, predatory, ungrateful, ugly, conceited and egocentric to the last ditch and that the occasional discovery of an isolated exception is as deliciously surprising as finding a sudden brazil nut in what you know to be five pounds of vanilla creams. These glorious moments, although not making life actually worth living, perhaps, at least make it pleasanter..……… Noel Coward
In Swahili language there is a proverb which if translated to English it would mean a donkey thanks its helper by kicking him. This situation does not only apply to donkeys but there are many people who tend to mistreat you especially if they think that they do not require your support any longer. They ignore the efforts you put in helping them even some trying to conceal any evidence that reveals how you supported them.
Like animals men have fresh and blood, both experience the world consciously, maintain social life, have self-perception, experience feelings, are intelligent, produces voice, to some extent both are driven by instincts and are willing to live. There are differences between them with animals being unable to reason instead they are driven by their instincts whereas men are able to reason and use logic.
Men are able to express themselves in a specific well advanced language unlike animals whose language lack expansiveness. Men have ability to change environment to favour them but animals can only adapt to the environment otherwise they die.
Being selfish in nature men tend to do only those that favour them otherwise strong external considerations are the ones that can compel them to support fellow men.
Not all men are selfish, predatory and intending to harm some are friendly to an extent they go extra miles to support those people who they have never met before but are in need of their support.
In the holy Christian book of bible Luke 10:29-37 while Jesus was demonstrating who a neighbour is he narrated the story of a Samaritan who came across a man who had been attacked by robbers along the Jerusalem to Jericho road, stripping him his cloths, beating him and leaving him half dead.
Upon seeing him the Samaritan took pity on him, carried him, and bandaged his wounds then poured on oil and wine. Thereafter he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and instructed him to look after the injured man promising him to reimburse to him any extra expense he may have spent upon return. He did the best he could to ensure the ailing man is in good condition.
It is worth to note that a priest had passed by, saw the wounded man but decided to pass on the other side of the road to avoid helping him or even coming close to him. A levite also had passed on that road and behaved in a similar version to that of the priest.
Much as both the priest and the levite had not been humane enough to assist the injured man the Samaritan came to his aid becoming the kind of the two categories of people.
There are some people who are unwilling to use the intelligence they have to assist those who require their services and it is quiet unfortunate. Just imagine the case of a doctor who takes care of the vulnerable not just because he is receiving a pay but on humane grounds as some of them are able to engage in some better paying jobs.
If such greed is given priority by anyone it may result to death as human beings could neglect others who seek for their support or those we know that they need our input even without them having to ask at times due to their lack of knowledge that we have such capabilities. We need to ask ourselves what if we are the ones in need of others could we be happy to be neglected if the answer is no then we should be ready to support those requiring our services.
Culture is a collective term for the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society. A good culture can be cultivated by continuous exercising these kind and human acts upon the members of the society. It should be inculcated from young age so that everyone adapt to it early enough and use it to serve the community in the rest of his life.
No human being can claim to have created self as this is due to collective efforts of a father and a mother and they too belonged to other parents so we are all inter related and should be our brother’s keeper at all times.
A toddler learns the dos and don’ts from those around him. if there were people whom we learnt from the norms in the society shaping how we behave by instilling humane values in us then we owe those we interact with the kindness they require from us and need to continuously care for them as we also expect to be supported by other people who have knowledge in areas that we are weak in.
No man should think that he lives completely independent of others if he does so he fails to have characteristics of human being who requires being rational and possessing passion to support others.
Mary Karau Ngethe