Why Don't You Want to Be a Hero?

Recently, I went with a group of 30 people to visit a nature park. The park was very beautiful. The scenery was breath-taking. Shortly into the visit, a woman collapsed to the ground. I rushed over to her as well as a few other people. I helped get the woman into a sitting position. She was much too weak to stand up.

The woman was very dehydrated. She recently started taking a new medication which causes dehydration. The woman admitted she did not drink very much that day because she was concerned she would have to use the bathroom while at the nature park. The woman had a bottle of water with her. I sat with the woman while she drank some water and rested.

Approximately 15-20 people saw this woman fall to the ground. Four people came to her rescue and lifted the woman into a seated position. One of the people who helped was a man with very large muscles. It was evident that he worked out on a regular basis. Of the four people who helped, I was the only person who stayed with the woman. I was flabbergasted. Not one male stayed behind to assist this woman. (In addition to Mr. Muscle, one other guy had very large muscles, and six other physically-fit men walked passed this woman and continued on their way through the park.)

After the woman rested for a while, I helped lift her to her feet. The woman was very unsteady. I caught the woman before she crashed back down to the ground. It took an HOUR to slowly help this woman make her way back to the bus. During this time, I had to carry not only all my own medical equipment, but I also had to assist the woman walking--at times, the woman collapsed her full weight onto me.

Praise be to God, we made it back to the bus. Everyone in the group was waiting for us. I staggered back to my seat and slumped down. I thought I was going to pass out from a combination of exhaustion and excruciating pain. When I got home, I went to bed for a week.

As God allowed things to happen, I ran into one of the big strong muscle men at the store. The man told me I was a hero, and he told me how impressed he was that I helped the lady. I was far too exhausted and disgusted with this man to say what was racing through my mind. Instead, I simply said, "I did what needed to be done."

I really wanted to say to the man, "You schmuck! You clearly work out regularly. Look at those large muscles you have. YOU could have helped this woman. YOU could have easily assisted this woman back to the bus. But instead of helping, you hurried away. Why? Why do you NOT want to be a hero? I do not understand. Why work out and cultivate large muscles if you are not willing to use them? You disgust me, and you should be ashamed of yourself!"

In this world of social media and instant fame, I am not sure why people are not willing to exert a little effort and glorify themselves as heroes. Instead, the work of assisting those who are in most need of help often falls on those who are already taxed to the brink of their existence...and yet, somehow, these are the people who step up and do what needs to be done.