By
Dan Brooks
In Man Bac, Vietnam a recent archaeological discovery shows us that four thousand years ago a young boy had been paralyzed from the waist down due to disease. He likely did not have use of his arms and could neither feed nor clean himself. Despite this and some of our conceptions of ancient society, he was cared for by his community and lived about ten years past the onset of his debilitating illness. There are many other stories of injured or disabled people like this found in archaeological sites that demonstrate the propensity and depth of compassion that, to me, is the hallmark of the human condition.
- It also shows that the ideas of survival of the fittest, of every man for himself, of “every man is an island” who is solely responsible for their successes and failures is not just untrue, but the antithesis of the culture of compassion that some of our not too distant ancestors lived out. Compassion carries with it the evolutionary advantage of making possible the impossible for both individuals and communities to otherwise accomplish. Fundamentally, it incentivizes risk takers and any culture willing to take greater, more profitable risks will be more successful in the long run of history. Since they know they will be cared for should something go horribly wrong, individuals are more willing to take risks for their community’s sake.
Across most of the last five thousand years, humans were living in stable and stationary agrarian societies. Part of those societies’ successes were based on utilizing beasts of burden like cattle, oxen, and horses. They soon realized if one horse can pull 200 lbs, strangely enough 2 horses can pull 600 lbs. The effort put forth does not merely multiply, it increases proportionally. It is true of animals, but even more accurate when it comes to humans. If even animals are more than the sum of their parts, how much more are we than cattle?
The mark of a great, civilized, and enlightened society is not measured only in how they praise the great among them, but in how they treat the least among them. The poor, the disabled, and the ill as well as their children are the markers by which history will judge them. Just as our society will be judged by the generations to come.
Jesus had much to say on a great many things, but he spoke quite clearly in regard to how our treatment of others reflects how we treat him in Matthew 25. Here I let Jesus speak for Himself:
“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
Personally, when gauging a person’s character, I never look at how they treat their peers or superiors, but how they treat those who can do nothing for them or those who are their subordinates. That is what’s telling to me. Like if a person is rude to the waiter but nice to me that tells me they will treat me the same way if I am ever in that position.
The way “minister” is used in the Bible is meant to mean something closer to caretaker than preacher. There are examples of those who ministered to Jesus which is a clue in and of itself. But the reason I bring that up is because we are glorified by Christ when we are caretakers to those who need it.
In ancient times, particularly in Roman culture, it was a common practice to treat strangers as if they were gods testing your character by disguising themselves. It even appears in Acts. Paul and Barnabas were once mistaken for Roman gods:
“And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
“The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
“Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people. Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.”
Hebrews 13:1-2 puts that thought in this way: “Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Abraham and Sarah entertained angels at one point. Abraham had no idea who or what they truly were. He just knew he had to be good to them in accordance with God’s will. He didn’t just feed them; he gave them the best of what he had. He gave them all of what he had to do with what they will. He was more than a hospitable host, he ministered unto them.
This is one of my favorite examples in scripture of how one should treat those who come into your life. And God did reward Abraham’s generosity with wonderful news of Sarah being pregnant with Isaac in Genesis 18.
The biggest lesson from the story of Abraham and Sarah for me is that all we have is each other. People come into our lives for a reason. Sometimes it’s to learn a lesson, even a painful one. Sometimes it’s to find love. Other times it’s to form a lifelong bond. But I don’t believe in coincidence.
The idea of some mystical Rabbis is that it was not angels that visited them but God. The idea is that, even though we have been taught that God has a body, that no one can limit God by saying He cannot appear in a certain way. The Architect of the Universe can appear in any form He so chooses. The human mind has limits, but God does not. The idea that it was God instead of angels may be wrong, but the idea that God can do anything is not.
If it were true, it further highlights the idea that how we treat each other is indicative of how we treat Him. After all, how can you claim to love God if you hate his children or His creations? And Jesus loves us even though we are the least compared to Him. He has sacrificed His comfort, His blood, and His life for us. He died for us, at the least, we can live for Him.