Everyone wants to be part of a caring church. One statement I often hear from people who are searching for a church home is, “We want a church where people really care about each other.” I suppose it is also true that every church wants to be a caring church. However, caring churches are made up of caring individuals.

If we are going to be a caring church, the church you’ve always longed for, the kind of church that makes an impact on people, each of us must learn to care for others. There is a familiar passage, Luke 10:25-37, known as The Parable of the Good Samaritan, that can teach us how to care for others. However, we must also recognize character traits of uncaring people.

The Pharisees asked Jesus a tough question. Luke 10:25 describes “a certain lawyer.” A “lawyer” was not an attorney as we may think of one today, but a man who was an expert in the Old Testament law, a religious scholar. His job was to interpret the Mosaic Law and guide people on how to relate it to their lives.

This man “stood up” so as to confront and “tempted” or tested Jesus. It seems that He was not so much interested in Jesus’ teachings as he was in tricking Him. The gospels recount numerous situations where these highly educated Jews tried to trap Jesus with their religious riddles and mind games.

He asked, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This was not so much a man seeking truth as it was a philosophical play, an intellectual trap. In other words, he asked, “Because You are supposed to be a great teacher, tell me how to find life in its fullness, how to find true happiness now and for eternity.” Have you ever met that person who was cynical regarding your faith? Confront them with the Bible.