Good Samaritan Quotes

“On the parable of the Good Samaritan: "I imagine that the first question the priest and Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But by the very nature of his concern, the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
― Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love

“We instinctively tend to limit for whom we exert ourselves. We do it for people like us, and for people whom we like. Jesus will have none of that. By depicting a Samaritan helping a Jew, Jesus could not have found a more forceful way to say that anyone at all in need - regardless of race, politics, class, and religion - is your neighbour. Not everyone is your brother or sister in faith, but everyone is your neighbour, and you must love your neighbour.”
― Timothy Keller, Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just

“Be nice to people... maybe it'll be unappreciated, unreciprocated, or ignored, but spread the love anyway. We rise by lifting others.”
― Germany Kent

“A Spiritual Samaritan lives knowing that if we were to leave this world tomorrow, we were the best humans we could be and we touched the lives of as many souls as possible. We are not asked to be perfect. We are asked to make a difference.”
― Molly Friedenfeld

“It seems it doesn't pay to be good anymore, when people are short-changing you for evil.”
― Anthony Liccione

“There is a stranger who is more than a friend, and a friend who is worse than a stranger.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson, The Book of Maxims, Poems and Anecdotes

“At times we feel outnumbered in our attempts to improve the world—to brighten and beautify, to preserve and heal and do what’s best for humanity. Selfless efforts can start to feel beleaguering, discouraging, even pointless with so little support. It is at these times I remind myself that I would rather be the last Good Samaritan standing than to join the ranks of selfish multitudes creating misery.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts, & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year

“The humankind is far from being human, and much further kind.”
― Anthony Liccione

“I’m just trying to do my part to save the world.”
― J. Cornell Michel, Jordan's Brains: A Zombie Evolution

“A lone wolf sees the wisdom in guarding the sheep and hunting their predators.”
― T.F. Hodge

“Perhaps one of these days she'd surprise herself and not actually do the thing that was right and proper and best for all concerned. And probably give herself heart failure from the shock.”
― Jo Victor, Romance by the Book

“The humanitarian is a treasure hunter seeking gems of remedy and appreciation.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes: Quotes, Thoughts, & a Little Poetry for Every Day of the Year

“As a child, I once suffered a bad fall that resulted in scratched palms and scraped knees. I remember how badly it stung, the cold air hitting my bleeding wounds; I felt that I couldn’t stand up for the pain. Through a veil of tears, I recall a kind hand reaching for me and helping me to my feet. My knees and palms were washed clean, and I remember thinking that for the rest of my life, I wanted to help people stand back up.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Slaying Dragons: Quotes, Poetry, & a Few Short Stories for Every Day of the Year

“To be truly good means more than not robbing people . . . To be truly good means more than being righteously religious . . . To be truly good means being a good neighbor. . . . And to be a good neighbor means recognizing that there are ultimately no strangers. . . . Everybody is my neighbor! . . . Everybody is my brother! . . . There are no isolated monads wounded on the other side of the street! . . . We're all connected.”
― Brian D. McLaren, A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey

“[In the story of the Good Samaritan,] everybody knows the robber is bad--but doesn't Jesus also imply an indictment on the priest and Levite? . . . The priest and Levite are over here. They are 'righteous' in a superficial way. They don't rob anybody. They're not like that lousy criminal who is over here, on the bad end of the line. Do you see it? That's the line we modern Christians try to live on the right end of it . . . The Samaritan traveler lives on a higher level, altogether. The issue isn't who is wrong or righteous; that's obvious. The issue is who is truly good.”
― Brian D. McLaren, A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey

“Deep wounds are not easily healed. But the Good Samaritan poured oil and wine into the wounds of the stranger who lay helpless on the road to Jericho, and set him on the road to recovery. Each one of us can go and do likewise.”
― John LaFarge S.J., The Catholic Viewpoint on Race Relations

“A good Samaritan is generally a nobody before and after the good deed.”
― Amit Abraham

“And so the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"
That's the question before you tonight. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?" The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., The Radical King

“Not everyone who has helped or is helping you wanted or wants to help you.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“Justice begins with a just civilian, not a politician.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Honor He Wrote: 100 Sonnets For Humans Not Vegetables

“Samaritan's Path by Stewart Stafford

On a solo trek on a dusty road,
A volunteer picked up my load,
Heavy things of weight and idea,
Hoisted aloft, a relaxing panacea.

We ran the clock down without ennui,
With songs, jokes, and inflated history,
Scenery and animals to comment upon,
Stones kicked as the sun still shone.

In dusk's bowing light, a reticent parting,
A trip over, happy memories restarting,
With a last handshake, wave, and smile,
We headed for home on the closing mile.

© Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford

“You want to see God? Look closely and without blinking into the faces of the forgotten, the frightened, and the unforgiven. Bear witness. Get down on your knees with them, spend time in their presence, hear their stories however they are told. Otherwise it is far too easy to believe they deserve their hell.”
― Neil Abramson, Just Life