Paying Attention to Needs Around Us

To put it lightly, most of us spend a lot of time staring at our phone. There is a story of someone driving home who nearly hit a pedestrian. Staring at his phone the entire time, the pedestrian stepped onto the road directly in front of the car. The driver slammed on their brakes and barely avoided hitting the pedestrian. Then, in shock, the driver watched as the pedestrian walked across the street oblivious to what had happened and, after crossing the street, walked straight into a tree. In Jesus’s story, the Good Samaritan saw the man in need before he acted (10:33). Seeing the needs around us forms an important part of being generous. It is hard to be open to God’s Spirit when our heads are down and we pay no attention to the community in which God has placed us.