Herman Cain, a man of God, a man of the church, of Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta, GA to be specific, seems to have forgotten the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church, when he, Mr. Cain, made his venomous statement blaming the plight of millions of Americans who are unemployed, homeless, and generally destitute on they themselves. Now we realize that there are those who are in dire straits because they have either failed to prepare themselves for life, because of previous incarceration(s), and for other incidents which might hinder them from being gainfully employed. I myself was recently unemployed for nearly five months due to a mistake that I made on my previous job, and I had to attend several job fairs before I was able, by the grace of the Lord, to once again obtain meaningful employment. But for Mr. Cain or anyone else to claim to love the Lord and then almost with the same tongue and teeth make such a blanket statement about why millions are destitute is not only an unfairly blanket generalization, but is hurtful and against the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let’s examine if we will the parable of the Good Samaritan which we find in Luke’s Gospel, chapter 10, verses 25-37. The reason for the parable is, a man attempts to justify his narrow idea of compassion by asking Jesus “Who is my neighbor?” Foolishly expecting Jesus to tell him that his neighbor is the person who lives within his proximity, the iquirer is surprised when Jesus, through the parable, tells him that his neighbor is whosover needs his compassion and help. The main point that I want to make is the same that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made when he referenced this parable in one of his sermons. He said that the road upon which the unfortunate man was ambushed by marauders was known as the “Bloody Pass.” In other words, this pass was well known as an ambush point. But instead of castigating the unfortunate man for going down the pass and being robbed, our Lord Jesus instead used the man, along with the Good Samaritan, as objects of what true neighborliness respresents. If Jesus had had Herman Cain’s mindset, he would have said that the calamity which befell the beaten man was his fault and his alone because he should have known not to travel the treacherous roads of the “Bloody Pass.” Mr. Cain and all who claim to love God in Christ would do well to remember that no matter whose fault misfortunes are, true godly love and compassion demand that we respond first and leave the why to God’s providence.

That’s my opinion; what’s yours? (c) 2011, Sherman N. Crockett, Jr. All rights reserved.