Conviction and Reality
In 1973, Princeton University professors John Darley and Daniel Batson conducted an experiment with seminary students. The students were divided into two groups. One group was asked to prepare a sermon on the Good Samaritan, while the other group prepared a sermon on an unrelated topic. When they finished preparing, the students were instructed to walk individually to the building where the chapel was located. Each student was given a different amount of time before the presentation, and along the route, the researchers placed a person who pretended to be in distress, coughing and appearing to need help.
The researchers expected that the students preparing a sermon on the Good Samaritan would be more willing to help the person in need. However, the results were surprising. Regardless of the sermon topic, only 10 percent of the students who were running late stopped to help, while 63 percent of those with plenty of time offered assistance. Whether they performed an act of kindness depended largely on how much time they felt they had.
Our convictions sometimes come into conflict with reality. The consequences of ignoring immediate realities often seem urgent, so when we are forced to choose between the two, our convictions can easily be pushed aside. But if we stop and consider what truly matters most, might we not rise above the barriers of circumstance and make the wiser choice?
