The Good Samaritan--Which Character are You?

I have been working through the Bible study by Beth Moore called Jesus: The One and Only.  When I got to section on the Good Samaritan I thought that I would move through it pretty quickly. I have heard the story time and again. Well, I was wrong!  There is so much there that I can learn from...one of the things that struck me was the different characters or roles that are in the story.  Each one of us has probably played some or all of these roles at one time or another...

The Robbers- At one time or another (ok, many times!) we will offend someone that walks into our lives.  We have injured them and walked away...sometimes knowing full well that we have done it and other times not having a clue.  Being "the robber" gives us the attitude of "What is yours is mine, and I am going to take it!"
The Injured Man- Many times we are the ones injured. We have been ripped apart and left for dead so to speak.  Sometimes we are so injured we can't even heal ourselves.  That is when the REAL Good Samaritan comes into play!
The Priest and the Levite- Sometimes we play our "religious" role well...too well.  So well that we suffer from "sklerokardia" which as Beth points out means "a hard heart". We have plenty of time for religion and not enough time for relationship.  These roles say, "What's mine is mine, and I am going to keep it!"
The Samaritan- Sometimes we get it right! We figure out who our neighbor is and treat him/her accordingly!  The Samaritan in us says, "What's is mine is yours, and I am going to give it!"

So what roles have you played recently?  For me, I think I can play all the roles in one day!  No...no talent here! It is just that some of the roles are all so easy to play!  The hardest one for me at times is the Samaritan role...to give freely without expecting anything in return.  Now that is easy when it is a friend or someone you love, but how difficult that becomes when it is someone who you don't get along with!  That was the case for the original Good Samaritan.  More than likely the injured man was a Jew, and Jews and Samaritans were sworn enemies! The Good Samaritan didn't play his expected role!  He went out on a limb and did the unexpected...showing love to an individual that he would have found hard to interact with!  May we do the same!