He Let Him Drown

A man walking on a boat deck tripped over a rope and fell into the cold, deep water.  He came up sputtering and crying for help then he sank again.  The man couldn’t swim.  He was in trouble.

His friends were too far away to help.  But only a few yards away, on another dock, a young man was sunbathing.

While the desperate man begged for help, the young man—an excellent swimmer—did nothing.  He actually watched the man drown.

The drowned man’s family was so hurt by the callous indifference of the sunbather that they sued him.  They lost.

In this 1928 precedent-setting case, the Massachusetts court ruled that the man on the dock had no legal responsibility in the accident and had every legal right to mind his own business.

As Christians, are we to mind our own business when someone is in need?  The answer is no.  When we have Jesus in our lives and we live according to His teaching, we can’t be indifferent to the needs of others.

By His example and His words, He taught us to be involved in the lives of others, to help those in need.  To be like Christ, that is our only option.

You may not have the opportunity today to save a drowning man, but there are many ways to be intentionally involved in the lives of others.  It’s not our responsibility to take over or to meet all of someone else’s needs.  However, it is our responsibility to live unselfishly, to consider the needs of others, and to do what we can.

Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Dear friend, a heart held in God’s hands is one that is willing to help others n their time of need.  Are you willing?

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.  -Ephesians 5:1

By Vonette Bright

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