Luke 10:30-37 KJV

30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

We should have compassion for everyone. Some people are more compassionate than others, but everyone has times when they aren’t. Sometimes it is because we are too busy, just like the priest in verse 31. We don’t think we have time to stop and help someone in need. Sometimes we may be too judgmental like the Levite in verse 32. We make assumptions about other people and turn the other way instead of just helping them.

Jesus said we should all be like the Samaritan and have compassion. He did not make excuses for why he couldn’t help, or make haste judgments about the injured man. Instead, the Samaritan went out of his way to help him. Compassion is not pity, and it doesn’t show discrimination. It is simply love in action.

When we choose to love by showing compassion we have a greater opportunity to share Jesus with them. They will be more willing to listen to us about Jesus if they feel like we care about them. We could miss out on an opportunity God has led us to if we are too busy or too quick to judge people.

So this week slow down, stop judging, and show compassion to those around you. You never know who you will touch or who’s life you could change.