Loving Your Neighbor

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Luke 10:27

 

 

Jesus repeatedly emphasized the importance of these two principles: love God and love your neighbor. In the Gospel of Luke, a lawyer raises the question of who our neighbor is; to which Jesus responded with the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan.  Through that parable, Christ effectively tore down the racial barriers that threatened to keep the Christian faith limited to the Jews and empowered the spread of the Gospel to all people.

 

What I've noticed, however, is that while we eagerly accept the worldwide definition of "neighbor," we tend to overlook the literal aspect of loving our neighbor. Are we loving the very people that live next door to us?  Think of your neighborhood as your own personal mission field.  You are the missionary that God has sent to the families that live in your subdivision.

 

As former international missionaries, we quickly learned the "golden rule" of evangelism: "People won't accept what you say until they believe that you love them."  This concept holds true all over the world- and especially in your neighborhood.  Your witness need to begin by building genuine relationships with your neighbors.

 

In order to love our neighbor, we need to begin with being a good neighbor. Did you know that the number one cause of conflict between neighbors are pets?  Dogs that are prone to barking or that are allowed outside unsupervised are a major source of annoyance to neighbors and can destroy any chance of a Christian witness.

Deuteronomy 19:14 commands us not to encroach on our neighbor's land.  A good neighbor respects the property of his fellow neighbors.  You can avoid border wars by keeping your pets and children off of your neighbors' land and being careful not to place trees or structures too close to property lines.

Noisy neighbors are a problem to everyone living nearby; whether it is loud music, parties, or just running the leaf blower early on a Saturday morning.  If you are planning a party or barbecue, be polite and let the neighbors know ahead of time.  Keep kids and pets indoors (or at least quiet) until 10 AM on weekends and after 10 PM on weekdays.

Finally, go the extra mile in being a good neighbor.  Be friendly.  Take the time to speak to your neighbor if you see them out in the yard. If they seem open, begin building a relationship slowly, but follow the advice of Proverbs 15:17 and don't overdo it..  If conflicts have already arisen between you and a neighbor, try to resolve the problem and "mend fences."

Neighbors can be a wonderful resource in times of need. Proverbs 27:10 tells us that, in a calamity, a neighbor nearby is better than family that live farther away. Whether you need to borrow a cup of sugar to finish that recipe or someone to pick your daughter up at the bus stop while you run your sick baby to the doctor, a neighbor can be a life saver.  Neighbors who know you and are somewhat familiar with your schedule can be the best security system around.

After commanding us to love God with all our hearts, Jesus says that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. He tells us that there is no greater commandments than these.  If loving our neighbor is that important to Jesus, it ought to be important to us, too.