GodChicks

• Nov 02, 2011
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A few weeks ago a Chinese toddler was run over by two cars in a market in the southern province of Guangdong. Closed-circuit television footage of the incident also showed 18 people walking past her body without helping her. Eventually she was helped by an older woman who collects trash for a living, and then taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries.

I was outraged and heartbroken as I read the article and watched the video footage. The hit and run was bad enough…BUT HOW COULD 18 PEOPLE WALK BY AND NOT HELP THE CHILD????

I heard a psychiatrist trying to offer explanations. She used a phrase called ”bystander effect.” This is where people would diffuse responsibilities…thinking something like, “There are other people who can help.” 

And then she said that there have been studies done that show when people are in a hurry to go somewhere; they are less likely to offer compassion…less likely to stop.

I listened to her explanation which did nothing to diffuse my anger…and then I realized that Jesus talked about this too. In the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10), a man is beaten and left for dead by the side of the road. Two people walk on by…two people who had the ability to help, and yet did not. The man was ultimately helped by someone who, in the natural, was considered his enemy.

I am still saddened as I think about this young girl left to die by the side of the road, and the many who walked by. How could this happen?

Is there such disregard for life?

Are people really so calloused?

And then I bring the questions closer to home…

Have there been people that I have walked by? People I might have been able to help?

My prayer continues to be…God please open my eyes so that I can see…see who you would have me help.

How about you?