When
We All Held Hands
But the Samaritan...when he saw him, he
took pity on him.
Psalm 82:3
It was graduation day. The father of
one of the graduates had been asked to perform a song for this
special commencement. As he stepped to the microphone he shared the
background story for the song he was about to sing.
“My third son was a bit scared on his
first day of school. So I walked with him to the playground and
waited until time came for students to enter the building. The
playground was a scary place for a five-year-old because kids of
every grade, age and size shared the same space. When the bell rang
everyone ran for the door at once! Sam wasn’t very big; at
three-foot-nothin’ those high school kids looked like giants!”
The father smiled as he fondly recalled
the event, “I’ll never forget that day as long as I live. This
big, strapping boy came over to Sam, took him by the hand, bent down
and said, ‘I’ll make sure nobody bothers you, kid. Just stick
with me!’ and into the building they went, Sam holding on for dear
life!”
The lyrics were powerful and moving,
causing tears to flow amidst the crowd… heads nodded as he sang of
a time when people looked out for each other and risked their own
safety to protect someone less able.
When he finished he received a standing
ovation; a lesson was received, and hopefully someone would take the
opportunity to reach out in the future.
†
It is rare, if ever, that we are
chastised or rebuked for coming to someone’s aid. And many of us
have benefited personally from ‘Samaritan’ assistance. So, why
are we so slow to lend a hand or stop wrong-doing when it is so
blatantly displayed in our presence?
Asaph rebuked the leaders of his day in
the eighty-second Psalm, telling them there were things they must do;
things that were right and good, regardless of worry or fear of what
others might think or do. He told them to stop defending the unjust
and wicked!
We, like those rulers, must heed
Asaph’s words.
Prayer
“LORD,
cause us to heed Asaph’s instruction. Teach us to discern the just
from the unjust, and defend the just without fear. In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.”
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