The Dirty Work of a Christian

“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.” –Luke 10:36-37

Often in sports, you hear about the guys who do the “dirty work”. These are usually references to players who are not in glorifying positions. On a football field, for instance, it’s the offensive line that does the “dirty work”. They’re in the trenches banging heads on every play. They are usually in a large scrum, taking hands to the face, getting slapped in the head, or any other unpleasant thing you can think of. These guys rarely receive glory for their successes, but teams need guys who do the dirty work in order to succeed.

Christianity can be similar. People think that being a Christ follower is all about a clean and easy existence. We get inside the walls of our local churches and think that is where we are the most Christ-like.  But when you read the parable of the Good Samaritan, Christ gives us a different picture. 

In this parable, a man is lying on the road beaten, robbed, and left for dead. Three men pass by but only one does the “dirty work” of caring for him. The Priest passes. The temple assistant passes. The two men who would have been seen as religious and God-glorifying walk past and even change sides of the road to completely avoid the man. Instead, it was the Samaritan, who stops, cares for, and even pays for this injured man’s care. 

The love of Christ is often shown when we get our hands dirty. When we show compassion to those who are hurting and often in the messy places of life, we are in fact showing Christ’s love. That’s our call from this parable. Go and do the same. Do not be afraid to do the dirty work. 

– Matthew Meridieth

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