The Good Samaritan?

[MystyRock]

I started posting on this forum a few years ago when I was going through a difficult time and had several questions. My church background was a very controlling Independent church. I met a Methodist at work (never talked to one before) and I was intrigued with the Methodist church. My husband and I started attending, became members and we are now active in the church.

I've since learned that the OT is not just for historical reference and God loves everyone (not just the "chosen").

I'm studying Matthew on my own and I started thinking about the Good Samaritan. The first 2 who pass by are church officials and do not stop. They would be the ones we would expect to offer assistance. Do I do this? We should love others and be kind. Is there ever a time when we do enough? I'm active in church and do volunteer work with the Red Cross. But I always see opportunities to do more. Can we ever do "enough" to help others? With so much sadness and hurting people in the world, should I feel guilty for wanting to take a vacation?

 

[Adstar]

Ask for the conviction oif the Holy Spirit on the matter.. Because God knows..

 

[GandalfTheWise]

Can we ever do "enough" to help others? With so much sadness and hurting people in the world, should I feel guilty for wanting to take a vacation?

EDIT[Whoops. Just noticed that this was not in one of the general forums. My apologies for intruding into a denominational forum. Though one of my best friends is a UMC pastor who bounces some of his sermon planning off me for feedback. ]

We (individually) are responsible for those that God wants us to help. We (individually) are not responsible for those that God is not calling us to help. When we do something out of guilt rather than love or compassion, we are not at a healthy point spiritually. We can burn ourselves out doing "good" for the world and end up missing what God really wants us to be doing. The important question is not so much "what needs are there in the world?" but rather "what needs does God want me to meet?" If we go running to every need we see, we run the real risk of not having the resources and time for those needs that we are in a unique position to meet. When we pursue what needs God wants us to meet, we are more likely to remain energized and spiritually healthy in the long run.

We live in a world where various causes use emotional manipulation and guilt to get people to do things. Marketers refer to it as "making a strong emotional connection" and then giving someone a CTA ("Call To Action") such as "for only $1 a day, you can do this...". Once in awhile, hearing the story can create a passion in someone to make a difference, but more often it generates a sense of guilt that "you are a bad person if you ignore this need".

The general rules of thumb I use for evaluating myself are these.

• Do I become so involved with things that I let my personal health, spirituality, and relationships suffer?
• Do I neglect my personal prayer, meditation, Bible study, and getting together with other Christians because I am too "busy"?
• Do I neglect my role in my family because I'm too busy doing "good" in the world?
• Do I not have any time for recreation?
• Do I sleep well at night or am I consumed with worry and frustration?
• Do I have a clear sense of what God really wants in my life?
• How many of the things I am doing are because I enthusiastically said "YES!!" to and how many are things I simply couldn't say "No" to out of guilt or obligation?

Speaking for myself, I felt like I started making a bigger difference in the world when I selectively said yes to those few things that I could make a profound difference in where God wanted me rather than merely not saying No to many things.

 

[Another Lazarus]

Its a blessing for others when you can help people.