But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
At an early age we are taught that the higher we climb the greater the fall, should we neglect to respect the responsibilities resting on our shoulders.
Bel·shazʹzar, king of Babylon chose to learn nothing from the downfall of his grandfather, Neb·u·chad·nezʹzar.
Daniel tells Bel·shazʹzar, ‘knew all about what happened to him, and still you are proud just as Neb·u·chad·nezʹzar was.
‘This is what is written,’ Daniel says: ‘MEʹNE, MEʹNE, TEʹKEL and PARʹSIN.’
‘MEʹNE means that Our Father has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. TEʹKEL means that you have been weighed on the scales and found to be no good. PARʹSIN means that your kingdom is given to the Medes and the Persians. The Medes, and Persians would end the life of Bel·shazʹzar that very night.
Our responsibility to serve one another encourages each of us to respond to those chance encounters that invite us to assist those who by accident appear in our life...leading us to recall the parable of The Good Samaritan when a complete stranger did much more than offer sympathy and kind words for an injured traveller.
"Who is my neighbour?"
Jesus replies with a story:
Jesus answered, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he travelled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?"
He said, "He who showed mercy on him."
Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
~Luke 10:30–37
The impact of several situational scenarios on helping behaviour was examined in an university experiment suggested by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Students walking between two classrooms encountered a poorly dressed older person lying in the corridor. The students in a hurry to reach their destination passed by without a second thought for the victim. The students were scheduled to give a brief discourse on lessons to be learnt from the parable of the Good Samaritan
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