Indifference

I read with interest a relevant court case in the state of Massachusetts back in the 1920s.

It concerned a man who had been walking along a pier when suddenly he tripped over a rope and fell into the cold, deep waters of the ocean bay. He came up sputtering, screaming for help, then sank beneath the surface. For some reason he was unable to swim or stay afloat. His friends heard his faint cries in the distance, but they were too far away to rescue him. But within only a few yards was a young man lounging on a deck chair, sunbathing. Not only could the sunbather hear the drowning man plead, “Help, I can’t swim,” he was also an excellent swimmer. But the tragedy is that he did nothing. He only turned his head to watch indifferently as the man finally sank and drowned. The family of the victim was so upset by the display of extreme indifference, that they sue the sunbather. The result? They lost the case. With a measure of reluctance the court ruled that the man on the dock had no legal responsibility whatsoever to try to save the drowning man’s life.

You and I have a legal right to mind our own business – to turn a deaf ear to anyone in need, to continue sunbathing while someone is drowning. We are not obligated to respond. Indifference may not be illegal, but it is certainly immoral.
I extracted this article from Charles R. Swindoll, Dropping Your Guards.

I quote Neil Cole, Search & Rescue …

“I cannot accept that if we love Jesus, we will be able to sit back and sunbathe while millions around us drown. We cannot afford to turn a deaf ears to those who are drowning. Indifference is not an option for any follower of Christ. Indifference is an insult to the initiative and sacrifice of Christ.”

Last words are lasting words. Jesus’ last words were, “Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the good news to all creation …”

God bless.