Luke 10:30-32 “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So, too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”

I don’t have to spend much time defending the notion that people have high moral expectations of religious professionals. This was true for ancient Jewish society as much as our own. The priest in Jesus’ story was a religious professional. His life was dedicated to the service of God. No one should have understood what God expects of us better. No one should have been more changed by constant exposure to God’s love for us.

The Levite was a religious worker who served in a support role. We might compare him to the elders or deacons in a church today, or to volunteers in the office or church committees.

Both of these men walk by the severely wounded man who had been robbed. Some believe their excuse might have been concern for ceremonial uncleanness. This is doubtful. Even if it were the case, it was no excuse for refusing to stop and help. There is nothing to suggest the beaten man was “unclean,” even according to Jewish ceremonial law. Nothing suggests he was a leper or a corpse. He was only “half dead.” Neither the priest nor the Levite managed to offer the man along the road basic human consideration.

Does faith make a difference in how we live, and love? Are we any different than the general population? The evidence doesn’t look good. A Barna poll finds a majority of practicing Christians, almost 70%, agree with this statement, “The highest goal of life is to enjoy it as much as possible.” That is similar to their secular counterparts. Jesus says, “Whoever wants to find his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and the gospel will find it.” Again he asks, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” Still, even practicing Christians will say, “God just wants me to be happy, right?” Where is that written?

On moral issues, Christians have often made the most noise about the problems with secular society. Yet Christian teens become sexually active before marriage at about the same rate as their non-believing counterparts. Christian marriages end in divorce more often than atheist ones. Apparently about half the time we find it difficult to love our very nearest neighbor, the one with whom we share a bed and a room.

On issues of kindness and charity we aren’t so different as we might like to think, either. Rosaria Butterfield is a Christian pastor’s wife with children. Before that she was an atheistic lesbian professor. But she says about the days before her conversion: “I strove to stand with the disempowered. I valued morality… The (LGBT) community values hospitality and applies it with skill, sacrifice, and integrity.” Helping others did not first become her concern when she became a Christian.

The main point of Christian faith is not to make us kind, or make us better. It is to make us God’s own. It is to make us safe in his forgiveness. God sacrificed his Son just because we need his grace, just like every other human being.

But God also intends his saving love and sacrifice to change us. Those who know what Jesus endured to come to our rescue will look at inconvenience, risk, and even suffering for others differently. His grace teaches us to put our faith into practice and show compassion. Christianity is not a “profession” confined to temples or churches.