Becoming a Good Samaritan
Posted by Alan Pritt on May 10, 2006
If you saw someone in desperate need of help, would you offer your assistance? Imagine that person was slowly killing themselves or ruining their life in such a drastic way that they may as well be dead. Someone who is becoming a criminal. Someone who can’t get off the drink or drugs. Or maybe someone on the streets. If you could help these people turn their lives around, would you do it?
I know I wouldn’t.
That’s a difficult thing to admit, but I can’t really deny it. As much as I would like to think I would change someone’s life, the evidence is that I just ignore these people. This has been bothering me for some time. It has been nagging at the back of my mind, that I would like to do more and give more, but I don’t. I definitely have strong plans to do so in the future, but it has bothered me that I can’t do anything now.
It is in fact true that I can’t do anything on this scale now. I’m still trying to establish my own independence, and if I tried to pull someone out of the gutter now, I’d probably get dragged towards there myself. When trying to be selfless, it’s important to remember to be selfish as well. The more we look after number one, the more power we develop to help others.
But if I’m really being honest with myself, my current situation isn’t really holding me back. There’s nothing really stopping me from doing a lot more than I do right now.
Nothing except me.
But rather than beat myself up about the fact that my personality is far from perfect, I can use that realisation to start making changes.
I’ll begin small, and build.
sanzu said
Its incredibly difficult to know when you are really helping people. I mean if someone is homeless and you give them money which they use to buy drink or drugs – have you helped them?
Even in a case when you are trying to help someone who is a friend – its really very diffiuclt to know when you are helping them.
Its one of those questions there is really not a yes or no answer to…
Alan Pritt said
Yes, very true.
Which is why when someone stops me in the street and asks me to give them charity money, I feel no guilt in refusing. I always ask instead for a flyer with the website address so I can research them further. Inevitably they don’t have one, and are only interested in receiving my bank details for a monthly deposit. Since not all charites are created equal, I believe everything I give away should be done with due consideration. Just because a charity’s heart is in the right place, doesn’t mean they are right. How many stories are in the papers about animal rights’ protesters breaking into research labs to release animals into the wild where they will surely die?
But yes, this extends to me too. Just because MY heart is in the right place, doesn’t mean I’m going to give good advice. We not only have to be caring, we also need to be careful.