She was on time, it was Sunday morning and soon she would arrive at her 200+ year old Southern Baptist church Sunday school class. The highway traffic was occasional; the country side was in full seasonal array. She was enjoying the scenery when suddenly down the road a short distance away, she spotted what appeared to be a woman who was walking along side the highway alone. As she drew nearer, she identified the walker as a black lady who apparently was dressed for church attendance, her attire and rather large floral spring hat offering strong clues. It caused her to wonder why. Her instinct was to stop and see if she could offer any assistance, but there was no time for thinking because almost immediately she passed by, but the thought did not leave her mind.
Knowing the location, she understood that if the walker were seeking help, she would not be able to find any in the immediate vicinity; she was in a sparsely settled area with little passing traffic on this sabbath morning. She thought that the lady surely needed assistance and fleetingly hoped someone would come to her aid. Then she reconsidered.
Why could she not be the Good Samaritan she had known from her Bible studies so not being in a particular hurry, she turned around to do , she believed, her Christian duty; she gave no thought to skin color only that here was an opportunity to apply the axiom: actions are more important than words.
She was correct in her assumption that the lady needed help. She learned that the car driven by her husband had broken down and their cell telephone was useless in a ‘dead’ area so she went seeking help. After a brief discussion and without any communication device herself, it was decided that the two should go to the church and make the necessary contact.
When they arrived, the Sunday school class was about to begin and so after making the call, the stranded motorist was invited to attend the Sunday school class while waiting for assistance. She Immediately was welcomed by the class members, all white. In addition to skin color, she also had another distinction: she was the only one present with a show-stopper hat, the object of many compliments.
Soon help arrived but not before an unfortunate racial stereotype was debunked. The lesson taught in the Sunday school class, whatever it might have been, was pushed aside by the real life application of a basic Biblical principle in action: Love thy neighbor – ethnicity notwithstanding. .
And who is thy neighbor?
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Bill Lee
PO Box 128
Hamer, SC 29547