Act first, pray later!

The other day I was driving on my way back home. I didn't have the kids with me, and the radio isn't working right now, so I was deep in thought in the silence of the car. If nothing unusal had happened, I probably would have pulled into our drive-way without any memory of how I got there. Does that happen to you too sometimes? But alas, there was something unusal. It took, however, a few seconds before I realized that I had just passed a car stopped in an exit lane. There was a guy near it, trying to "talk" to a woman who held her arms outstretched in a defensive position, walking backwards up the hill she was standing on.
And now I was in a dilemma. I couldn't take a second look to confirm that this was suspicious, because they were already out of sight. I couldn't turn around, because I was on a highway. What should I do?

Well, you aren't even sure what you have seen, you don't want to make a fool out of yourself and call 911. That's just for emergencies.

But then again, what if this guy is trying to hurt her? Wouldn't that be an emergency if it was you? Wouldn't you hope someone calls the police?

Alright, but certainly someone else has seen it too and is taking care of it. You are already way down the road.

Didn't you just read about the Bystander Effect in the book "You Are Not So Smart" by David McRaney? Everybody thinks that, and then nobody does anything.

But I'm really not comfortable calling the police. Maybe I'll just pray for that lady...

GO BACK TO HELL, WORMWOOD!!!

And so I pulled over and called 911. The operator transferred me to the police department. After describing what I saw, the lady there said they would send out an officer immediately. I don't know what happened after that. Did they find them? Were they gone by the time the police arrived? Was the woman safe? The important part though is, that all it took me was to stop the car, make a phone call, and less than a minute later, I had done what I could do to help.

In hindsight I'm shocked about my chain of thoughts. The idea that I can substitue actually helping someone (when I have the chance) by praying for him/her, is purely evil. Not helping is uncharitable to begin with, but what makes it evil is the disguise of caring spiritually. In cases like this, we need to act first, and pray later. Let's hope that from now on I'll be better able to recognize the devil's voice among my oh-so-sensible thoughts!