I went to help him up and he pushed me away. I saw him fall again, and again I tried to help him up. After the third time watching him fall I stood and watched...
the question is this: When, as Christian, do we stop helping and stand back?
2007-08-23 01:53:44 · 35 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
If I offended anyone by using the word "Christian" I am sorry, it was not my intent to categorizes any one group of people being better or different then the next..
2007-08-23 02:06:34 · update #1
well if he is pushing you away every time you try to help him all you can do is sit back and watch. if he wouldve really needed your help he wouldve asked again. im sorry but i dont know the real answer to your question. very good question though! that is just my thought on the question. he might have needed to learn that he cant do everything on his own. its okay to ask for help.
2007-08-23 06:25:21 · answer #1 · answered by lismarie16 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes people, especially the disabled don't want your help. I tend to forget and simply do also, but once rejected I might ask 'HOW' can I help you? Independence and pride mean so much to some people. Reality is, I'm the same way. As a senior, I don't want people assuming I need help regardless of what it may look like. So I fall off my bike, or fall while hiking, don't embarrass me by assuming I am a senior and automatically need help when someone else would not. So I do to others what I would not want done to myself.
2007-08-23 02:57:25 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A few weeks ago, I saw a guy who I would guess that was younger than me (I'm 36) standing outside of a Target, rummaging through a trash can, looking for something to eat. He found nothing, and I noticed him moving to the store next door to do the same thing, and so on.
I keep all my change (coins) in my ashtray in my vehicle, and I drove by to offer it to him. I rolled down my window, and said, "Hey, man", to get his attention, as he was ruffling through another trash can. At one point, I saw him pull a McDonald's bag out of a can, dig something out, and take a bite. I rattled the ashtray, attempting to signal to him that I had money to give him. I figured that if he wasn't too proud to do what he was doing, then he needed the money more than me.
He just glared at me...not a nice glare, either. He began walking off. I drove a little further down, said something else, and he didn't even look at me. I just drove off.
The point is -- some people don't WANT to be helped.
2007-08-23 02:08:41 · answer #3 · answered by Deke 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
This is allegorical, I think.
You can't help anyone who doesn't want to be helped.
And if you do end up helping him get back on his feet and he had wanted to do it himself without you, he will feel resentful toward himself and toward you (and everything you stand for). Is this helping?
Pushing help on people that don't want it is one of the things that Christians tend to do too much with a good intention but seldom a good result.
2007-08-23 02:00:03 · answer #4 · answered by buscadora78 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When he first pushed you away he was saying with his actions that he did not want your help. As soon as someone says they don't want your help you should step back. However, as a caring and compassionate person you can still stand by and watch in case they get in some kind of deeper trouble. You would be available to call the 911 number for professional assistance.
2007-08-23 01:57:54 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Being a Christian does not mean that you should act any differently than the rest of us.
If you offer help politely, and it is refused, then politely back off*
*Unless the person is in obvious danger and incapacitated mentally (either by drink/drugs or mental retardation**)
(**Always be safe yourself)
2007-08-23 02:00:32 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Dang... this is depressing. I just took note that the vast majority of people who answered this question did not recognoze that it has absolutely NOTHING to do with a person actually 'falling down'... it is an allegory/metaphor relating to someone 'needing to hear about Jesus'.
We're doomed. Overall, as a species, we are too stupid to survive. Heck... if we're really THAT stupid, we don't DESERVE to survive! I am firmly convinced that IQ-wise, 'intelligence' does not kick-in 'til around 135.
Actually, you are not 'helping' at all. You have been duped into actively helping to spread a delusional world-view, to the great detriment of your county, the world and humanity. Think about this... you believe that a cosmic Jewish zombie, who is his own father, can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced, by a talking snake with legs, to eat from a magical tree... (etc.)... and you think that there is something horribly wrong with people who ARE NOT so gullible and droolingly stupid as to believe such outrageously ridiculous codswallop.
Here's the real tragedy about this... you think you are sane.
.
2007-08-23 02:05:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
When someone indicates they do not want help, unless they are causing a problem for others, you should leave him alone. Many times it is harder to get up from a fall with someone pulling on your arm than if you get yourself up. Certainly it is more humiliating, especially if you are heavy. If I am down, let me tell you whether I want help, and if so, how you can help me. Don't just grab hold and pull.
2007-08-23 01:57:35 · answer #8 · answered by auntb93 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
You stop at their refusal.
Maybe they as a Christian feel that the Lord helps those who help themselves and wish to be left alone.
You offered and that was enough. They either accept or don't.
2007-08-23 02:03:52 · answer #9 · answered by Nurse Winchester 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When they reject us, it says in Matthew to "shake the duste off our feet" But that is only after several tries. So I think you chose correctly, try twice, watch the last time.
2007-08-23 02:03:01 · answer #10 · answered by Jane 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋