The true nature of one's character is most clearly revealed in reactions.
It was an act that oozed of integrity! It was an unplanned opportunity. Turned out to look pretty great on the guy's resume', but it was totally spontaneous. He certainly had not programmed it into his Droid that morning as he was leaving home. He had not written it into his monthly financial plan. And it doesn't appear that he actually even paused to consider other options. It was simply a response to an observed need that was driven by the true nature of his character. The true nature of one's character is most clearly revealed in reactions.
Others strolled right past the opportunity. In fact, if you were that beaten man left to die by the side of the road, you would have been rejoicing to see those first two fellows come into view. Both were apparently just coming from worship services...actually, at least one of them would have been a LEADER in a significant role IN that worship service! What better coincidence than to find yourself in a state of desperate need and to be approached by someone on their way home from church? A priest...a Levite. They "saw," but they kept their distance. They literally went out of their way! They offered no hope to their neighbor who had just been rolled. The true nature of one's character is most clearly revealed in reactions.
Just when hope had evaporated, along came a traveler who, to the culturally astute observer, the next to pass his way offered no hope to the wounded man. An alien to the region. Member of a despised and distrusted race. A man on a mission traveling through a dangerous place. Yet he saw, he paused, he came to the broken, and he actually touched the wounded, administering the emergency first-aid immediately required. Then he soiled his ride, sought out a bed, nursed the man through the night, and paid the boarding fees. To top it all off...he pledged his ongoing support by virtually offering a blank check to the hostel manager. Wow! The true nature of one's character truly IS most clearly revealed in reactions!
"Do not let kindness and truth/integrity leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart."
All this he did never considering that 2000 years later his name would be the "by-word" for spontaneous, costly acts of benevolence. It was unequaled kindness fueled by obvious integrity. Because, though we honor his deed and admire his character, we don't even know his name! We simply remember him as the "Good Samaritan."
What have your "reactions" revealed of YOUR true character this week? After all, the true nature of one's character is most clearly revealed in reactions!
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