The Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, says that drama is not meant to tell us the whole of a person’s life. What it does is place a person in a certain situation. Then, from the way the person acts and behaves in that situation, their character is revealed to us.
Jesus does that in the parable. He places a priest, a Levite and a Samaritan in a situation: they come upon a man who is lying half dead at the side of the road. All of them are faced with a decision, they can stop and help him or they can pass by. There is no escape, they have to commit themselves to either helping or passing by. The priest and the Levite – the
religious people of the day – pass by. The looked down upon Samaritans, the one who decides to stop and help.
A crisis does not create character, it reveals character. In crisis people reveal what is already inside of them – whether they are generous or selfish, daring or fearful, a hero or a coward. One moment or event may cause a person to reveal their essential being, who they really are. The encounter with the half dead man is such a moment for the priest, Levite and
Samaritan.
It revealed, one could argue, that the priest and Levite were self-centred people, they would not put themselves out for someone in desperate need. When the crunch came, they were only worried about themselves and, perhaps, their reputations. Maybe they were rushing to get somewhere thinking just how important they were and how important it was to keep going so
they would not stop.
The Samaritan on the other hand did something admirable – not only did he stop and help the man (remember Samaritans were despised by the Jews) but he also put the man on his own animal. He was the kind of man, despite what had been done to him and his people, who could not pass by another human being in pain without wanting to relieve that
pain.
Everyday our characters are revealed by the way we act in different contexts and situations. Every day we make choices that either reveal us as fundamentally unselfish or selfish people. Our true selves, our characters, our virtues, are revealed by what we choose to do daily.
What does the way you act, daily, say about your character? Is your life fundamentally about yourself – selfish – or about others – unselfish? Observe yourself today.
