Loving Our Global NeighborMuestra

The Good Samaritan Meets the Shrewd Manager

Sunday school class in my elementary years was the place where I learned the main Bible stories and parables: Noah’s Ark, Jonah and the Whale, David and Goliath, The Sermon on the Mount, The Parable of the Prodigal Son, The Ten Commandments . . . these and more are deeply ingrained into my being. They have shaped who I am and how my faith developed as I matured. The Good Samaritan, though, was a lesson that was actually relatable as an eight-year-old. You see, the elementary school I attended had a classic hierarchy of power among the kids, specifically the girls: wealth vs. lower-middle class, beauty vs. homeliness, and cattiness vs. kindness. I remember a specific sleepover I attended where one girl actually dared the group to befriend an “outsider” named Christina the following week at school. Someone chimed in, “Why would we do that?” The pack leader sarcastically responded, “I don’t know, maybe you’ll get to wear the golden crown in heaven. But I don’t think anyone will do it.” This sleepover and the dare set before us imbedded into my psyche. I was truly never the same; my heart suddenly ached for Christina in a way I had never before acknowledged. But it took a haughty girl’s dare to open my heart. Besides my parents, I had two sources of influential guidance: peer pressure and Sunday school. On Sunday I was programmed to “be like the Good Samaritan” and help out a person in distress. Back at school, I was encouraged to put up walls, adhere to the established cliques, and, above all else, look out for myself!

When I was back at school Monday, I was drawn to Christina and her quirkiness with pure fascination and an open heart. I wanted to talk to her, golden-crown prize or not. When we had recess, I gathered some acorns that had fallen onto the concrete, took them to her, and showed her how to strategically place them in the woods for the squirrels to gather. We spent thirty minutes with our heads down and our voices chatting away about flowers, tree houses, siblings . . . and then it came. She randomly mentioned that she lived with her grandmother and sister in an apartment because her parents had died two years ago in a car crash. Her grandmother was old, and kind of poor, and she wondered if anyone knew. 

Whew! Life-changing moment. My days of following the popular cliques ended then and there. I had blankets of attitude from the other girls, who made fun of me “changing lanes” to permanently befriend Christina. But it altered my life for the better. I can look at someone and see their pain and potential, their situation and solution, or just sit in silence and be present in their distressing moment. 

In adulthood, I’ve faced numerous situations where people and groups need various levels of help and support, a Good Samaritan, per se. But what if we, in our world of strategy and planning, came at specific issues like poverty from a business model mind-set? Businesses are about loss-prevention and profit. So if that strategy was implemented onto people whose lives and livelihood were threatened, the preventative measures could literally save lives, en masse.  

In order for the Good Samaritan persona to be strategically effective, though, he needs to meet the Shrewd Manager. Read Luke 16:1-9. In these verses, Jesus tells a parable about a Shrewd Manager. Even though he is accused of fraud, is lazy and deceitful, and double-crosses people, Jesus holds up the Shrewd Manager as someone to emulate. Why? What does the Shrewd Manager understand that Jesus’ disciples don’t? He understands that money is temporal but people and relationships are long-lasting. What’s the take-away here? Because we are called to be good stewards of our money, we are to shrewdly manage and mobilize it in order to serve people in need. That takes skillful planning, not just happenstance occurrences on the street corner with little effort or thought. Sure, those helpful deeds are serving some need, but what if that person’s need could be erased altogether? 

Prevention first demands us to love others in such a way that prevents pain and suffering and poverty (in particular). Understanding the unique needs of each person or group you intend to become involved with is key to being relatable and effective. 

Questions to ask yourself:

Have you ever struggled to “change lanes” and develop empathy and understanding for another, leaving your comfort zone of barriers, indifference, and ignorance? What held you back? What will it require to move yourself into a new, deeper level of concern for those in the midst of poverty and devastating conditions?

Write out the qualities of the Good Samaritan and the Shrewd Manager. Next, write out a list of combined traits that are necessary to be a Shrewd Samaritan. What do you need to improve upon to be of greater help to disadvantaged people and communities? An understanding of basic economics? Greater confidence in your abilities to be of service? Time management? Getting properly informed of the facts for a specific situation? Fill in the gaps where you are lacking, and then work with a friend or team to implement solutions.

Prayer: Lord, I am becoming aware of how valuable everyone’s story is, not just those we deem worthy because of their deeds. You constantly amaze me by highlighting noble qualities in people I often write off as manipulative. I have the same less-than-perfect qualities of the Shrewd Manager, yet I see his strength in assessing situations and aiming for a long-term, benevolent outcome. I, too, have the capability for being shrewd. I ask that my shrewdness be born of a godly wisdom so that I can exponentially impact those you lead me to help. Amen.