Being Neighborly

The bystander effect is the name given to a social psychological phenomenon in cases where individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation.
Imagine that you’re walking on the street and see a man viciously beating an older woman.
What would you, just a passer-by, do?
Two incidents caught on video earlier this year raise a question of ethical responsibility to help a person in distress. In one, a man beats up and chokes a subway passenger in New York into unconsciousness; in the other, an assailant on a busy Midtown street in Manhattan knocks a Filipino immigrant to the ground and repeatedly kicks her head.
The videos prompted swift condemnation, with many asking why witnesses had seemingly failed to intervene during the acts of violence. And yet, there are a number of us who might be hesitant to get involved in somebody else’s conflict for one reason or another, often becoming bystanders for fear of the complications and consequences of what getting involved might bring to us. One of our greatest concerns should be that these aren’t isolated incidents.
In the Scriptures, an expert in the law asked Jesus how he should be neighborly. His first question, however, was, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus responded, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
The expert answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But this expert in the law wanted “to justify himself” and so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus shared this story: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell amongst robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But when a Samaritan came by and saw him, he took pity on him. The Samaritan bandaged the man’s wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his donkey and took him to an inn to care for him. The next day he gave money to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three,” Jesus asked, “do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Fortunately, recent research shows that most people these days are willing to be a neighbor who will step in and help someone in need, even if it is a stranger being assaulted. I am one, are you? It’s the neighborly thing to do.