Many years ago, a speaker at a conference asked the question, “Are you a honker or a helper?” Basically, what she meant was when the stoplight turns green and the car ahead does not move, is the first inclination to honk or to wonder if the driver needs help. She then spent some time relating her “honker or helper” theme to life, in general, asking what the conference attendees first inclination is when people do things that inconvenience or irritate them. Do they honk and complain or help and offer assistance?

I would suggest most all of us are faced with honking and helping situations every day. I know I am and I have honked way too many times. To be honest, though, I am choosing to help a lot more and honk a lot less, even seldom.

A few years ago, on a flight to North Carolina, a young mother sitting in the row in front of me was struggling with her rather loud and restless child. In an attempt to settle him down, she let him take out his video game, which only made things worse for those of us around him because he did not have any headphones. It should not take much to imagine the looks those nearby were giving the mother. Remembering what the woman at the conference said, I chose to help, rather than honk, and handed him the ear-buds to my iPod, which made the remainder of the flight much more enjoyable for all.

A few months later, on a family trip out East, I made the mistake of trying to drive through New York City on I-95 and traveled less than two miles in over two hours. Trust me, there were many opportunities to honk – and one to help. A minivan was stalled in the middle of the left lane, causing all vehicles to merge to one lane and slow traffic down even more. Instead of adding to the chorus of honking, I decided to park in front of the minivan and help the occupants push it to the side, allowing cars to drive by. As a Twins fan, had I known before I stopped they were Yankee fans going to an afternoon ball game, I may have changed my mind. Still, I am glad I chose to help rather than honk.

I know these examples are fairly minor but these are the types of situations we encounter all the time and you never know the ripple effect helping someone rather than honking will have on his or her day.

I do wonder, though, if Jesus were alive today and telling the Good Samaritan parable, instead of using the road to Jericho, wouldn’t the setting be a backed-up interstate, a crowded airplane or some other ordinary situation most of us encounter every day?