Sunday, May 13, 2012

Friendly

The Fourth Point of the Scout Law:
A Scout is Friendly.
A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He offers his friendship to people of all races and nations, and respects them even if their beliefs and customs are different from his own.
I think the best scripture to illustrate this principle is the parable of the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:30-37 (NIV)
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
It is important to note that in the context of the times when Jesus gave this parable, Samaratans and Israelites hated each other. This person was not merely giving comfort to a person he knew, but even on someone from a completely different group, most of whom hated him.

Teach the Scouts you work with that it is easy to be friendly to people who like you. It's a much larger test of one's character to be a friend to those who may dislike you.

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