LDR-800 Module 8 DQ 2
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ldr-800_module_8_dq_2.docxModule 8 DQ 2
In reflecting on the parable of the sadhu, McCoy (1983), there are many considerations and complexities to ponder. I’d like to think that my Christian convictions would have me behave like the “Good Samaritan,” the parable (Luke 10:25-37) where Jesus is telling this lawyer, who is an expert in the Laws of God, that the fulfilling of the Law is to love God and and to love your neighbor just as you do yourself.
Like the “Good Samaritan,” many (New Zealanders, McCoy, Stephen, Swiss, Japanese, Pasang, and Sherpa) helped the Indian holy man, the sadhu, to different degrees and with different levels of convictions. Stephen, a committed Quaker, according to McCoy (1983) remained and advocated for the sadhu handing him off to the Sherpa’s. The New Zealander carried the frozen body to McCoy but was angry. Stephen and the Swiss gave the sadhu clothes for survival. The Japanese refused giving up a horse to transport the sadhu but gave him food and drink. And the Sherpa’s carried the sadhu to 15,000 feet and left him in the sun. Unlike the “Good Samaritan,” nobody took full responsibility for the sadhu and had compassion. The compassion to care for him, clean and care for his wounds, use their own time, money, and resources to carry him to an inn to ensure survival. The convictions and decision making was juxtaposed to the bottom line, making it to the top! Did any on the journey love the sadhu as they do themselves?
It’s easy to judge the groups of climbers and justify their limited involvement yet, their decisions at the time were camouflaged by goals and desires (for some, aspirations of a lifetime), culture, climate, and timing distracting them from saving a human life. McCoy and Stephen spend some time debriefing and discussing the ethics of their decision making. Although, as stated earlier, I’d like to believe I’d drop everything and behave like a “Good Samaritan” yet, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23 (NIV), and thus a need for a Savior, Jesus Christ.
References
McCoy, B. H. (1983). The parable of the sadhu. Harvard Business Review, 61(5), 103-108.
