From the very beginning, serving out the role of the "good Samaritan" has been dangerous.

Think about the biblical origins: A man traveling on a road from Jerusalem to Jericho is attacked by robbers, beaten and left for dead. At least a couple of people passed by the wounded man and did nothing to render aid. The one who offered assistance was a native of Samaria.

In the story told by Jesus, the Samaritan risked much and gave much. He went all out to help the assaulted man who could not help himself.

Samaritans were a despised group among some Jews, and yet this man decided to help the traveler who may very well have been Jewish. He also risked being robbed and beaten himself by lingering to provide assistance to one he didn't even know. Yet the Samaritan did it anyway.

The Samaritan was a good neighbor, for he showed mercy on someone in need.

This story resonated with us after the death of David Moessner, 51, of Ballwin, Mo., near St. Louis. Moessner saw a car wreck on Interstate 540 and got out to help. Traffic was backed up due to an earlier accident. As Moessner waited to cross the highway, a woman driving a Chevy Malibu swerved to avoid crashing into another vehicle and hit the Good Samaritan from Missouri.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Moessner was a public relations manager for AT&T in St. Louis and was driving on Interstate 540 with his wife, returning home from a weekend visit to the University of Arkansas to visit their daughter. Moessner had another daughter and two sons. He had a passion for writing, was a Chicago Cubs fan, loved St. Louis' music scene and volunteered with a baseball league serving children and adults with disabilities, his brother Chris told the newspaper.

His brother, Chris, told the Post-Dispatch the family wasn't surprised David died trying to help.

"He had a motto that he talked about with his kids," his brother said. "It was to live to serve. If you saw someone in need, you would help them."

What a tribute, and what a tragedy. In all likelihood, if Moessner had elected to stay in his car that evening, he would be with his family today.

That's what's so tough about the urge to live out the virtues of the Good Samaritan. On the one hand, we're tempted to urge people in similar situations to avoid the risk, to stay in their cars so that they don't make a bad situation worse.

We didn't know David Moessner, but it sounds like he wouldn't have had any of that. Indeed, his act of reaching out a hand to help someone in dire need earns our admiration. Plenty of people stay out of danger and withdraw. It's truly amazing when we witness acts of bravery, of selflessness, of kindness in situations many people will run from, not to.

Our condolences go out to the Moessner family. We're saddened a family must go on without a father, a spouse, a brother, a member of a community and a friend.

So what would you do, help or play it safe? Nobody should behave recklessly, unconcerned about the complications one's involvement might set in motion. But we admire the kind of humanity that pushes one human being to reach out to another, willing to help when their aid can make a significant, sometimes life-saving, difference.

Moessner had it right. Live to serve.

Commentary on 03/13/2014