The Good Samaritan

Long ago, in a small town, a man was traveling down a dusty, lonely road when he was suddenly attacked by a group of robbers. They stole everything he had, beat him badly, and left him lying by the side of the road, hurt and alone.

As he lay there, bruised and in pain, a priest happened to come along the same road. He saw the man lying there but didn’t want to get involved, so he crossed to the other side and walked away, leaving the man to suffer. Later, a Levite, who was also a religious man, passed by. He saw the injured man but also ignored him, walking on without offering help.

Finally, a Samaritan came down the road. Now, the Samaritans and the people of this region usually didn’t get along. They were from different communities and held long-standing grudges against each other. Despite this, when the Samaritan saw the injured man, his heart was filled with compassion. He didn’t think about the differences between them; he only thought about helping someone in need.

The Samaritan went to the man, gently cleaned his wounds, and wrapped them with cloth. He helped him onto his own donkey and took him to a nearby inn. There, he took care of him throughout the night. The next morning, the Samaritan paid the innkeeper and said, “Take care of him. If the costs go higher than this, I’ll pay you the rest when I come back.”

The Samaritan continued on his way, having shown true kindness and compassion to someone who was a stranger and even a rival.

Moral: True kindness and compassion mean helping others, even when it’s not easy or convenient, and even if they are different from us. Compassion knows no boundaries or prejudices.