Jeremy Berg is a pastor in Burnsville MN and this post is one that has crossed my own mind a number of times.
Do you pick up hitchhikers? Why or why not? I passed one by again today as I drove through town. I have to confess my conscience is disturbed every time this happens. Why do we pass on by?
Is it inconvenience? Are we afraid they may be dangerous? Are we just shy and want to avoid the social discomfort?
As I wrestle with my conscience I think of Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan every time. Is this a fair application of this passage? The similarities are striking. We find hitchhikers on by the roadside, often economically "beat down" and "stripped" of financial means. We pass along their way and with a little time and generosity can provide the assistance they need. For me, a pastor, the comparison is even more poignant ("By chance a priest came along...and passed him by").
So, is my guilt justified? Does a Jesus-follower living by the "Jesus Creed" have an obligation to pull over and offer assistance? What would Jesus do? What do you think?
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Would Jesus ask me to risk harm to myself to help someone else? I'm inclined to say yes.
But I have to say I wouldn't pick up a hitchhiker, and I have to honestly say I don't know if I should feel bad about it or not.
That's some good ponderin' there....
I kind of want to sometimes, but I never have. But I'm also a young woman and not very big, with no self-defense training. Me picking up a male hitchhiker would not be an equation for safety. I know ministry sometimes means doing the apparently unsafe and "not smart" thing, but, honestly, I don't have the faith or sense of calling to let a strange man into a small, enclosed, and mobile space with me. Although, oddly, I do still feel a little guilty about that.
Now if I saw a female hitchhiker (which I haven't ever seen) I might stop.
I have and will pick up "hitchhikers" - people I know from seeing at the local grocery story or enroute on my travels to work - when the weather's bad and I know they walk a long way. I don't know if I'd be brave enough to pick up a total stranger but I always enjoy my brief minutes from these folks who are so thankful for a lift.
Wayward daughter update (see #9)
The latest report is that my daughter hitched with the wrong trucker and had to flee for her life. Her luck was better with a second trucker who helped her escape. Two of her later rides were from Christians. She had good talks with them and now believes God's grace got her to safety.
This stuff may be academic to most of us. But lately it has been a bit more of a practical concern for me.
Your prayers are appreciated.
For the most part, no. I have a wife and a young son and as a general rule of thumb I feel it is not a safe practice to encourage.
This is not iron-clad. I gave a young man a ride once late at night because his car was out of gas and the nearby gas station in our smaller town was closed. He said he had a wife and child waiting for him in his stalled car, a claim which turned out to be true. Winters in Indiana can be brutal. I am prepared to bend the rules to give someone a ride in a winter storm; their life safety is more important than my rules. (Isn't that a general principle to follow when trying to avoid legalism: people are more important than rules?)
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