Being Neighborly

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 10:27

Jesus makes much about serving others when he says in Luke 10:27, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s a tall order for any of us, so you might find yourself echoing the rich young lawyer a few verses later, “Who is my neighbor?”

Our 24/7 cycle of constant news reveals a mountain of needs around the world. So, the question “who is my neighbor” may not stem from a desire to check something off a list, like the young lawyer who came to Jesus thinking he had met all of the requirements of the law. Rather, you likely have a sincere desire to know who you should be helping.

You can’t possibly meet all of the needs brought to our attention, so how do you choose?

Here’s the answer. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus says that on the path we are traveling, we will come across someone in need. Real need. And that person in front of you is…your neighbor.

Proverbs 3:27 reinforces that when we’re told, “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you should only help meet local needs. The world is filled with opportunities, and whenever you sense the Holy Spirit saying, “You can make a difference here,” jump on it (Joni and Friends is a great way to give a wheelchair and Bible to, let’s say, a needy person with a disability in another country). There is a huge blessing in meeting needs of people whom we will never count as “local” neighbors.

Yet there is an equal blessing in reaching out to the individuals and families who are our neighbors. The elderly couple across the street, the bag boy you always greet at the grocery store, your bank teller, and that new couple at your church. These are the ones you connect with during the course of your normal days.

Well, these days, nothing seems normal, does it? But, ever since COVID changed all of our lives, it seems there are more relationships opening up between neighbors; more opportunities to connect on afternoon walks, and more reliance on people “down the street” for help. Since COVID restrictions have hit, we are being forced out of our comfort zones and becoming more intentional to, well…be neighborly.

That’s something to celebrate on this National Be a Good Neighbor Day.

Finally, Ken Tada took fresh-baked cookies to give to people up and down our street, making sure everyone was doing okay. (All socially distanced, of course)! In so many ways, COVID has reestablished the need—even the pleasure—of being good neighbors. And we have lots of instruction on how to do that. Yes, there is the story of the Good Samaritan, but don’t forget the Golden Rule (better named the Second Greatest Commandment) to love your neighbor as yourself.

Just pull up your Bible app and take a look at these other verses: “Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up” (Romans 15:2), and “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).

It’s a high and noble calling to be “a good neighbor.” Yes, that calling may be put to the test as the season wears on and we move closer to November elections, but even that can be a creative opportunity to especially show the love of Christ to your neighbors. So keep working at it, friend, and encourage others to do the same on this National Be a Good Neighbor Day!

–Joni Eareckson Tada