Matthew 12:9-14

Matthew 12:9-14 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  It's easy to look for excuses not to do the right thing.  For as long as humans have been quarreling or prioritizing other things over the care for their fellow humans, we've found ways to justify it.  Here, the Pharisees see a man with a withered hand, and rather than be concerned with his suffering, they are so laser-focused on the rules that they don't even notice his pain.  The plight of a fellow human has become secondary to a system that they have set up. 
  And so it goes in our modern world.  We brush aside our fellow humans in the name of progress.  We leave behind those who cannot keep up, because we are pressing forward with such urgency that we don't have time to slow down and care for those in need.  We get caught up in our agendas to the point that others become a distraction.
  Jesus tells us to care for, to selflessly love our fellow humans.  He doesn't give us exceptions, but rather calls us to care for them all, at whatever cost to ourselves.  Loving the other is always the right choice.