“A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of his body - the wishbone.”

Racism. Antisemitism. Genocide. Discrimination - its all around us. From one generation to the next we pass it down; hatred toward a group of people. For the majority of the time in America it has been the African American population, but it has also been the Italians, Chinese, Hispanic, you name the nationality, and there is a group out there that has or does hate them. These people are tortured, burned, and murdered in the most violent of ways by a "supreme" nationality or group.

I would say I do not fully understand the concept of racism or any of this hatred toward a certain nationality, but I would be lying.

I have been raised in a loving, caring home that supports my decisions and has taught me to love people to the best of my ability. But there is something overly present, something just as deadly as racism, antisemitism, discrimination. Something that we all do. It is, in my opinion, the root of the hatred. Judgment.

Wayne Dyer, a motivational speaker, once said that judgments prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances. Our judgments are based solely on what we see from someone, and most often, someone we do not know. This is concept of judgment by appearance is one we see iterated in the parable of the good Samaritan.

In the passage of the good Samaritan, an EXPERT who does not know everything (Luke 10:25), is the one who inspired this parable. Why is that significant? You are in no position to judge unless you know everything (Jessica Beaver - Passing Judgment Lesson). Psalm 143:2 says,

Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one is living righteous before you.

This verse sets up the hierarchy that is so common in today's society. "Do not bring your servant into judgment" tells us much more than just not to judge others, but instead to eradicate the throne of earthly selfishness that devours every person.

The verse goes on to say "for no one is living righteous before you." It sets the stage for how life should be. It tells us plain and simple, we are equal.

Now as Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan, He mentions three groups of people. He mentions a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. Lets take a deeper look at this.

The priest. Priests were very religious people. They were experts in the law, and in this case, missing one thing (action James 2:14). He passed right by and actually went to the other side of the road.

The Levite. Now to understand why Jesus chose a Levite we have to go back to the Old Testament. When the Twelve tribes were assigned land, the Levites were the only ones who were given cities instead of land. Which gave them a head start and easily an arrogant auora to themselves. The Levites also had particular religious and political responsibilities. So they too were experts in areas, but also lacking one thing (Development). He passed by as well.

Finally the Samaritan. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. The Samaritans were a mixed "race". Highly frowned upon. He has no expertise in anything, he is the lowest of the low in that society, yet He is the one who does not judge this beaten man. He helps out and gives graciously, mastering the two things the priest and the levite were missing.

If you look closely at the Priest, he supposedly knew all of the laws. He missed one. In Leviticus 19:18 it reminds us of the greatest commandment of all "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Which is the answer to the question presented by the original expert Luke 10:27) He missed it. And because he missed it he missed his action.

One of the most quoted verses in James, 2:14, says "Dear brothers and sisters, what's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it with your actions? That kind of faith doesn't save anyone." Clearly the priest missed the mark and did not come through with action. However, the Samaritan did take action, his faith was not based on just the principles.

Now more closely at the Levite and his history. The Levites were given cities, not land. Cities have no room to grow and develop, they are established. The tribes that were given land had room to grow and develop. The Samaritan, on the other hand, developed the sick man back to health.

So, if you have made it this far you are probably ready for a conclusion. Here it is.

In order to stop the racism, discrimination, and whatever other injustice is going on, we must first and foremost love our neighbors as ourselves. But secondly, when we see something that makes us mad, take action, and through that action develop the person or group back to health.