The mom tells you she has a few dollars in her purse which she left in the car and she'll pay you for your trouble. Do you take it? No, of course not. It's only a few dollars. What difference does it make to you? It obviously means more to her.
You pay to fill her gas can and drive her back. Of course this is a divided highway and you have to go back passed her car and turn around. She seems to feel bad about the inconvenience for you and again offers to give you the few dollars she has in her purse. You tell her she doesn't have to, but if she said a prayer for you that would be more than enough.
You drop her back off, wait for her to make sure her car starts and watch her drive down the highway. You're now late to pick up your kid from school.
Questions:
(a) Can you think of a reason why you should have taken the money? Is that reason valid? How does that make you feel?
(b) Was it right to ask the woman to pray for you? What were you thinking in making such a request? How does that make you feel?
(c) Did you consider your own child in this situation seeing as how they were waiting for you and relying on you to be a dependable parent. What do you say to your child when you are twenty minutes late picking them up? Will this affect your child's opinion of you in a positive or negative way. How does that make you feel?
(d) Why did you stop for the mom with the kids in the car? Would you have done the same for someone else? Consider this question in depth and search for your own prejudices. How does that make you feel?
(e) The ethnicity of the mom and children was not mentioned. What do you think it was? Why do you think that? Considering your answer, how does that make you feel?
(f) Based on this experience and your answer to question (d) next time you see a stranded motorist, under what circumstances would you stop? If you decide to stop, how do you feel? If you decide not to stop, how do you feel?
(g) How many times in the past have you stopped and how many times in the past have you not stopped for a stranded motorist? How do you feel right now?
(h) Now read the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Does this passage offer any clue to how the Samaritan felt while he administered aid to a Jew? If you were a Jew listening to this story, knowing what you know about the antipathy between Jews and Samaritans how would you feel?
For questions (a)-(g) what emotion comes closest to describing the way you feel.
angst, regret, guilt, sadness, remorse, anger, happiness, peace, satisfaction, or other?
