The Good Samaritan Wore A COVID Mask

“Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.” —Luke 10:30-33

Did you know that you don’t wear a mask to protect yourself but to protect others? It’s true! If you have the virus there is about a 90% chance that you won’t give it to the people around you. If both have masks it increases to 95%.  Why I am writing about this in a devotion? Our second daughter drove in from Atlanta for my wife's, Martie, birthday.  We were talking about her work when she told me that the company she works for has a policy that that all employees must comply with CDC guidelines for COVID at work or they will be fired. One of her coworkers told her that the only reason he wears a mask is so he doesn’t get fired. He is not concerned about anyone but himself. I asked her if he was being beaten and robbed in an alley, would he think it was alright if she walked by saying, “It is not my problem”? That is when the Good Samaritan popped into my mind.

The very ones who you thought would have had compassion towards the man in the ditch did not – they were only concerned about themselves. They could recite scripture from memory to impress others with their spirituality, but when it came to applying it to their lives? Well, it was all about them – everybody else was on their own.  They were not about to have their life interrupted by someone else – they had problems of their own and were not going to be inconvenienced for the good of someone else.  I have listen to people rant about wearing a mask. When you boil it down – it is the same as that parable. As a Christian, why would you not wear a mask for the good of others? Probably the first reason is that you don’t really care about others – you just don’t want to be inconvenienced. Oh, that would not be your go-to reason – but that is the essence of the reluctance.

“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” – Luke 6:43-45

My goal is to encourage you to have spiritual perspective on your life and those things that are happening around you. I hope I have today. It is all about loving your neighbor – bearing one another’s burdens – laying your life down for others. The elementary things of our faith that get lost in everyday living on this planet.

Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone