"I feel guilty if i'm not doing things for others." I often hear this statement followed by, "As a Christian, shouldn't I be helping others?" Many people feel overwhelmed with responsibilities to do good for others and confused by conflicting mortal priorities. One individual I spoke with said that in order to help someone else out, she had to work at her job fewer hours. As a result, she had difficulty paying her bills, and that had led to mounting credit card debt. She wanted to be a good Samaritan, yet she felt a conflict between taking care of herself and taking care of others.
When Jesus urged his followers to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and take in the stranger (see Matthew 25:34–40), he surely didn't mean that his followers should go hungry, thirsty, and homeless as a result. To me, being Christian means that we reflect and multiply God's goodness, not that we use up all our human resources in generosity toward others.
Jesus established the moral and spiritual foundation for any good Samaritan's action when he said that the greatest commandment is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," and that the second is like it, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matt. 22:37, 39).
