Our solution starts Sunday

Ashley Thaba | Monday February 10, 2020 14:18

Some can see a problem and walk on by. Others feel compelled to do something to be part of the solution. We have two different options when we see a problem. We can complain about it or we can figure out how to contribute positively towards making that problem go away. Let’s look at a Biblical story illustrating this point and then pick it apart for life application.

Luke 10 tells a very familiar story of the Good Samaritan – a Jewish man is beaten up, robbed and abandoned on the side of the road. Two very “religious” people walk by. Not only do they avoid helping him, but they actually distance themselves from feeling uncomfortable with the encounter by deliberately going to the other side of the road so they don’t have to get near the man. Meanwhile, a Samaritan who had most certainly his whole life been mistreated and ridiculed by Jews sees the man and offers tremendous help! (If you understand Biblical history, you will understand that Jews had zero respect for Samaritans)

Here is a man who doesn’t just observe a problem and keep walking, but actually did something about it. The Bible tells us that story as a practical example of what love looks like. Love should prompt us to observe how to help a hurting world and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! You may ask, “what if the person who is hurting isn’t my friend?” Didn’t stop the Samaritan man! You may say, “I’m busy – and it isn’t my responsibility.” Probably those are pretty close to the words of the priest and Levite who walked by the wounded man – the “villains” in Jesus’ parable. Others might say, “It costs my time and money to help others!!” Yep, sure costs the Samaritan man! Here is the thing – to REALLY show love means to REALLY help others. It will take YOUR time! IT will cost you money! It will be uncomfortable sometime – BUT that is what God calls us to do – LOVE ONE ANOTHER. And true love MUST RESULT in actions!

My friends, when you look at our country, you see problems. You see problems at your work place. You see problems in your neighbourhood. You see problems with your marriage. You see problems with crime rates. You see problems in your church. What type of person are you going to be? Will you walk on by – move to the other side of the road and complain about it or will you get “dirty” and be part of the solution to fixing the problem? Here is another interesting thing to note about this story that I noticed when I was reading it. The story doesn’t record whether the beaten up man ever says thank you for the Samaritans’ sacrificial service to save his life. I asked myself why and I believe it is because we are called to love because it is the right thing to do – not because we will get attention for it or even be properly thanked for it!

If our nation is to become a better place, each one of us needs to ask God to open our eyes to what we can personally do to make the world around us a little brighter by putting our love into action! Especially those of you who call yourself Christians, God wants to SHINE through you and LOVE others through you. That means you must avail yourselves to be the hands and feet of Jesus to shine LIGHT in the darkness, to love your enemy, to serve those who may never say thank you and to serve even when it costs your valuable time and money. Each one of us have been uniquely gifted to help others in some way! If we will avail ourselves to truly love our neighbour, our country would become a different place!

For a while now, my husband and I have been observing a problem around us that we believe has negative implications on the entire country: the deterioration of the family unit. Strong healthy happy families are few and far between. We can gossip about the friend who is having the affair. We can complain about how our family is bad. We can judge the kid at school who always makes bad grades because there is no one to help him with his homework at home because his father left his mother after impregnating her and the mother is struggling to make ends meet. We can keep making everyone aware that Gender Based Violence is on the rise because people aren’t being taught proper communication tips and are filled with angriness at their pain filled upbringings. We SEE THE PROBLEMS!! BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT???

My husband and I decided to do the little we could to try and help. God has given us wonderful principles in His word which have guided our personal lives and our marriage for 16 blissful years! We are NOT perfect, but we can testify that God’s way has worked for us. The Bible says in Hosea 4 that people perish because of lack of knowledge. Could we share what we have learned and pass on that information to help others improve their family lives and their marriages? We have nothing to lose by trying! So that is what we are going to do! Starting this coming Sunday on BTV, February 16, from 7:30-8:00 pm., our TV show, Talking with the Thabas will air every Sunday night for 13 weeks. The goal of the show is to do our small part to at least try and be part of a solution to a problem we are observing. Ask yourself. What can you do this week to improve the problem you observe? Ask God to fill you with a love for others, like the Samaritan man, which will move you to ACTION.

Contact: askthaba@gmail.com or Facebook page: Talking with the Thabas

*Ashley Thaba is a popular motivational speaker and life coach. She is the author of the well-known books, Dive In and Conquering the Giants. She also facilitates corporate team building and wellness activities. You can view some of her work on her YouTube channel: Ashley Thaba.