Luke 14 vs 1 - 6 (NKJV)
Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. 2 And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” 4 But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. 5 Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” 6 And they could not answer Him regarding these things.
Through this story in the New Testament, we learn that we should esteem people better than things, systems, traditions. We must be motivated by love and care for people first.
This does not mean we flout laws but we walk in the fruit of the Spirit when it comes to our fellow human being.
Jesus was motivated by love, care and concern for this man who was suffering with (dropsy) a swelling of soft tissues due to the accumulation of excess water. The symptoms of dropsy included swelling of the foot, ankle and leg and feeling of heaviness in the limb.
Jesus was concerned for this man to be healed and rightly so. He was not content to see this man continue in pain when he had the power to do something and bring about change. The pharisees on the other hand were concerned about the Sabbath day and what should be done, or not done on that day. Jesus had compassion for the person, the pharisees were concerned for their tradition above the person.
My dear sister, always esteem people over systems and things. When it is in our power to do good, let us do good. Let us help those who need our help. The timing might not be convenient, it might cost us something, let’s still go ahead and bring relief to another, brother, or sister, or person.
To be loving, to be caring, to be compassionate, to be kind, to show goodness to others, even when it might cost you controversy or cause you to not be accepted, is to be like Jesus. Please be like Jesus. Shalom!