Why do we go the speed limit on the freeway? Is it only for our own safety? No, we go a slower speed than we might want to, than our schedules pressure us to, because we are responsible, in part, for the welfare of our "neighbors" on the freeway.
The Good Samaritan chose to slow down and take the time to help a man found beaten in a very unsafe area. Conjecture could lead us to think that perhaps the beaten man had not been prepared enough/safety conscious enough and perhaps in this way invited his own troubles. This could have justified the attitude that "It's not my problem."
Helping my neighbor starts with qualifying him, despite his poor choices, or his inherent difference to me as worthy of my help, time, resources. It also requires that I live life slowly enough to notice him on the side of the road.
Before I let my guilt disqualify me from accessing all the power of God, I must remember that my inheritance of all his gifts is not dependent on my perfection and not withheld due to my imperfection. It is freely given because I am his child.
