What Would You Have Done?
07/28/10 11:13 Filed in: Faith
What would you do if you encountered a stranger in distress? Would you react the way the Good Samaritan did?
“. . .having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”(Matthew 13: 44-50)
In the parable of the pearl, a merchant traded everything he had to obtain that rare and costly jewel. But few of us are faced with making such a sweeping life-changing decision once and for all time. Rather, the ethical choices we face day in and day out are more like the ones that confront the people who are secretly filmed in a new TV series called “What Would You Do?”
Hidden cameras roll as actors play out scenes that call for the unsuspecting passersby to intervene. In one episode after another, viewers are asked to put themselves in the role of the passersby and ask what they would do if they saw:
In the TV series, the reactions of passersby vary widely. Some shake their heads and walk away; others roll their eyes and mutter under their breath; and, fortunately, some Good Samaritans intervene on behalf of the victims. They took a risk and acted on what they believed. What would you have done?
In the parable of the pearl, a merchant traded everything he had to obtain that rare and costly jewel. But few of us are faced with making such a sweeping life-changing decision once and for all time. Rather, the ethical choices we face day in and day out are more like the ones that confront the people who are secretly filmed in a new TV series called “What Would You Do?”
Hidden cameras roll as actors play out scenes that call for the unsuspecting passersby to intervene. In one episode after another, viewers are asked to put themselves in the role of the passersby and ask what they would do if they saw:
- a clerk pocketing a customer’s winning Lotto ticket
- a mother leaving her baby in a hot car
- a suspected pedophile lurking in a playground
- a restaurant owner harassing a new female employee
- a real estate agent making racist remarks to a potential home-buyer
- and young, bikini-clad girls spouting insults at an overweight woman.
In the TV series, the reactions of passersby vary widely. Some shake their heads and walk away; others roll their eyes and mutter under their breath; and, fortunately, some Good Samaritans intervene on behalf of the victims. They took a risk and acted on what they believed. What would you have done?
blog comments powered by Disqus