A GOOD SAMARITAN

A few months ago I was preaching in a gospel meeting (some readers will better understand this by the term "revival") in a small Tennessee town and staying in a motel in a larger town some ten or twelve miles away. I was aware that my car was in need of a new set of tires and I planned to install a new set as soon as I returned home.  One evening, driving to the motel following the evening church service, I heard a "flap, flop, flap, flop."  I thought, "Uh-oh, I've got a flat tire." 

While the stretch of road I was on was sparsely populated, there nevertheless was a feed and seed store just to my right.  I managed to pull my car into the small patch of paved parking area in front of the store and park under a security light.  I thought, "Now what?"  I had never used the spare tire and had never even had the jack out of the trunk of the car.  I was not at all sure where the jack was located or where under the car I needed to place it in order to lift the car and replace the tire.  Additionally, I was wearing a new suit that I had only worn a time or two, dress shirt and tie, and dress shoes—attire hardly conducive to changing a dirty flat tire.  But I shed my coat and tie, rolled up my shirt sleeves, retrieved a flashlight from under the front seat, opened the trunk, and began the frustrating task of trying to figure out how to get the jack and spare tire out.

About that time a Jeep went along the highway in the opposite direction from which I had come.  The driver went down to the next road that turned off the highway, turned around, and came back to where I was and asked, "Do you have a car problem?"  I explained my situation.  He said, "I think I can help you."  He was a young man in his mid to late twenties.  His girlfriend was with him, and they were out for a late summer's evening drive.  Both were dressed in shorts and tank tops, and he had a number of tattoos on his arms and shoulders. For some "reason," at that moment his outward appearance really did not matter all that much to me.  He said, "Here, let me take care of that."  In a matter of minutes he had the spare out of the trunk, the car jacked up, the flat removed, and the spare on in its place.  As he worked, his girlfriend talked with me, and I kept repeating that I could not begin to say how much I appreciated them stopping to help me.  She said, "He's an expert with cars.  He does all of his own auto repairs and takes care of all of mine.  He just loves to work on cars and help other people with theirs."

I had pulled a couple of twenties from my wallet to give to the young man to pay him for his trouble.  He absolutely refused to take them. When I tried to get him to take at least one of them he still refused.  He said he was glad to help out, saying something about how that was what life was all about—helping others. Since I was to be in that town a few more days, I asked him if he could give me the name of a reputable tire dealer where I could buy a set of the brand of tires I used on my car.  He gave me the name of a dealer, and the next day I went there and had a new set of tires installed on my car.

There are some lessons to be learned from this incident.

1. There are many good-hearted people in this world.  Be thankful that there are people who are willing to stop and lend a helping hand.

2. Don't judge a person's heart by his or her outward dress and appearance.  "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteousness judgment" (John7:24).

3. The next time you see a person in some difficulty stop and see if there is something you can do to help.  "Pay it forward."

4. Plan ahead.  Don't wait until an emergency occurs to get acquainted with the equipment (and how to use it) you will need in order to deal with the emergency.

5, Perhaps it's time for me to enroll in Triple A or switch to a General Motors vehicle with all the OnStar features.