True Benevolence
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Christ asks: “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor
unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed
mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
Here Jesus wished to teach His disciples the moral obligations
which are binding upon man to his fellow man. Whoever neglects to
carry out the principles illustrated by this lesson is not a command-
ment keeper, but, like the Levite, he breaks the law of God which he
pretends to revere. There are some, who, like the Samaritan, make no
pretensions to exalted piety, yet who have a high sense of their obliga-
tions to their fellow men and have far more charity and kindness than
some who profess great love to God, but fail in good works toward
His creatures.
Those truly love their neighbor as themselves who realize their
responsibilities and the claims that suffering humanity has upon them,
and carry out the principles of God’s law in their daily lives. “And,
behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master,
what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written
in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love
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the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.
And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou
shalt live.” Christ here shows the lawyer that to love God with all the
heart and our neighbor as ourselves is the true fruit of piety. “This do,”
said He, not merely believe but do, “and thou shalt live.” It is not alone
the professed belief in the binding claims of God’s law that makes the
Christian, but also the carrying out of that law.
In the parable, Christ exalts the Samaritan above the priest and
the Levite, who were great sticklers for the letter of the law of Ten
Commandments. The one obeyed the spirit of these commandments,
while the others were content to profess an exalted faith in them; but
what is faith without works? When the advocates of the law of God
plant their feet firmly upon its principles, showing that they are not
merely loyal in name but loyal at heart, carrying out in their daily lives
the spirit of God’s commandments, and exercising true benevolence to
man, then will they have moral power to move the world. It is impos-
sible for those who profess allegiance to the law of God to correctly
represent the principles of that sacred Decalogue while slighting its
holy injunctions to love their neighbor as themselves.