Why does it seem like there are so very few good Samaritans these days? And why are people more interested in filming from their mobile phones now, instead of actually doing something to help? Have people become that self-absorbed, that they are more concerned about their videos going viral, rather than trying to make a difference on this planet?
I say this because I saw in the news recently a video recording of a Dunkin Donuts employee taking a huge pitcher of water and then dumping its entire contents on a homeless man who had fallen asleep at a table while charging their phone there. Then, if that wasn’t enough, they began to verbally abuse the homeless person, shaming them, and telling them they weren’t welcomed there again.
My question is this.
How does something like that even remotely come across any person’s thinking as the right thing to do?
Watching that video reminded me of something I once read about many years ago. It was the story of a pastor from a very prominent church in Texas who had dressed up as a homeless person and sat upon his church’s steps one Sunday morning with his hands outstretched looking for a handout. In a congregation of hundreds who had shown up that day, not one single person had offered anything to him. When everyone was inside waiting for the pastor to appear, he suddenly entered and walked up to the pulpit, undisguised himself, and told the congregation they should all be ashamed of themselves, that their action was the exact opposite of the teachings of Christ. He then ended the service that day.
What a powerful message right?
Sadly, it really does seem like our world is becoming more and more consumed with pleasing itself than in helping anyone else out from the kindness of their heart. All one needs to do is peruse through the countless YouTube videos where people have witnessed crimes in the making, bullying, and sometimes even of someone attempting to take their life.
I was horrified when I watched a movie the other day where a guy had fallen onto some train tracks after having a seizure and instead of anyone helping to rescue him, they had their phones out and were filming it as it happened. While that may have only been something from a movie, it’s actually not an unheard-of thing and is really just art imitating real life. People have become so concerned now to get noticed that they would rather film something like this that could become viral and get them noticed, rather than step in and try to help.
I sincerely hope that if I ever was in a coffee shop and was about to witness an employee taking an action like dumping a ton of water onto a homeless person, that I would say something and try to prevent it from ever happening.
I sincerely, hope that if I was ever waiting for a train and someone had fallen on the tracks or was about to jump in front of an oncoming train that I would do everything I could to rescue them.
And I sincerely hope that if I ever saw someone being bullied that I would step in as well.
I can promise you this. There is no video that I could ever record, no amount of likes that I could ever get, and no amount of fame that would ever be worth the sacrifice of overlooking someone who might be in need.
Frankly, I’m ashamed of that employee’s action from Dunkin Donuts and hope for their sake that they might see the err of their ways at some point down the road. Equally as important, I also hope that one day, we all might wake up and stop trying to get our 15 minutes of fame by doing things like filming videos of people in need. Instead, I pray more of us will walk through any fears we may have and become the good Samaritan who tries to make a difference, as our world truly needs a lot more of them right now…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
