Rainy Day Man

Rainy Day Man

By MoonKing

         Every day I ask myself, “Am I just a fair weather friend? Or am I a rainy day man?” Think about it yourself. Do you help when a friend really needs you? Or do you find yourself with something “better” to do? When your friends need your help do you suddenly remember that you need to take out the trash? Or do you, like a true friend, help them through their trouble?

         A true friend is someone who will travel with you through the hardest times of your life. Help you through miles and miles of pouring rain. This kind of person is a rainy day man, the opposite of a fair weather friend. Fair weather friends only help you when it is convenient for them. They’re motives are entirely selfish and while they do help people they do it for the reward at the end and not out of charity.

         In the bible, Jesus tells the parable of The Good Samaritan. Many of us have heard this story but few know just how extreme this story is and that finding a true “Good Samaritan” is nearly impossible.

         Starting off, there were three groups of people, the Jews, The Gentiles, and the Samaritans. Jews and Gentiles hated each other more than warring nations. The Jews thought themselves a chosen people of the Lord and thus raised themselves above everyone else, especially the Gentiles, who were looked upon as the scum of the earth.

         Gentiles in turn hated the Jews for the way they raised themselves above everyone else. Both Jews and Gentiles loathed the Samaritans more than each other. This was because of the nature of the Samaritans; they were the result of interbreeding between Jews and Gentiles. The Samaritans were loathed by both Jews and Gentiles and so they in turn hated the Jews and Gentiles for hating each other.

         Now as confusing as this may seem we’re complicating things even further. In the parable Jesus says that a priest walked by the beaten man first, and then a Levite, and finally the Samaritan. Now we all know that a priest is pretty high in authority and is a man of god but what about the Levite? Levites were the only ones who had authority to perform blood sacrifice. A Levite, one of the elect of god walking by a man who has been beaten off to the side of the road was unthinkable.

         Now to top this story off we have the Samaritan who knew that the beaten man was a Jew and didn’t care. This Samaritan, who knew that if the beaten man was conscious, he might spit on him and revile him, helped the Jew, brought him to an inn and paid for his stay there including room and board for several days.

         Now ask yourselves this, if this “Good Samaritan” can help his sworn enemy when he is in need, then why can’t we help our friends when they need help? Don’t be a fair weather friend; the world has enough of those. Be a rainy day man, someone who helps no matter the circumstance.