What is a good neighbor? Have you ever asked yourself this question? Let’s talk about that today.
I love stories, don’t you? There is nothing like a good story to paradoxically provide escape and teach life lessons.
Stories can allow us to step into the shoes of another and live another perspective for a while. They can allow us to be the hero.
Stories can hold our interest for a lesson many times when we fail to listen to the direct approach. Jesus understood this about us. I think that’s why He told so many stories—or parables as the Bible calls them.
One of the things I love about these parables is how relevant—and convicting—they can be even now in our modern world. And one thing that fascinates me is how we still miss the point sometimes.
If you’re like me, then you like to picture yourself as the “hero” of the story. The main character. This is great fun in a normal story.
But in a parable? This can lead to many missed lessons. I forget that in a parable I am usually all of the “characters” at one time or another.
One of those stories that has been coming to mind a lot lately is the one about the good Samaritan. I’m sure you remember it.
Recorded in the book of Luke, there was a lawyer who sought to test Jesus by asking Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. As Jesus did so many times when asked a question, He asked His own.
“What do the Scriptures say?”
The lawyer answers, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus says, “You have answered well. Do this and you’ll live.”
But the lawyer wants more. He wants to justify himself, so he says, “And who is my neighbor?”
So Jesus tells a parable. One about a Jewish man who is traveling. The man is attacked by robbers who left him badly beaten, half dead.
A priest passes by on the road, sees the man, and steps around him to continue on his way.
Then a Levite sees the man and chooses to also leave him there.
Then a Samaritan finds the man—someone who would be most likely to pass by since Jews and Samaritans were enemies. But instead of ignoring him, the Samaritan stops and helps him, even brings him to the next inn, pays for his care, and promises to come back.
The least likely man put himself in harm’s way to help someone who hated him.
I always picture myself as the selfless and kind Samaritan. I want to believe I would have made the same decision in the same circumstances.
While I have made many good decisions to help others, I have also been the righteous priest and Levite who walked by the hurting, the lawyer seeking justification, and even the Jewish man who desperately needed help.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been thinking about this parable a lot lately. But I’ve also been thinking about something else. Just as Jesus was so fond of asking his followers and skeptics questions, I keep feeling this question, “Who is my neighbor today in this modern world?”
In the US, we don’t have the same dynamics as the Jews and Samaritans in Jesus’s day. But we have many divides and prejudices still.
Like the priest and the Levite who surely claimed to be godly men, we claim to love others until we walk by different races, socio-economic statuses, political beliefs, nationalities, beliefs, and on and on.
We have people we choose to ignore when we see them beaten down, even sometimes going so far as to say their circumstances are their own fault.
I don’t want to be the priest or the Levite. I want to be the Samaritan.
But how do I change? How can I be a good neighbor?
Thoughts on How to Be a Good Neighbor
#1 – Remember the most important laws.
I’m sure these verses come up a lot. You probably know the ones I mean because they are very closely related to our discussion on being a good neighbor. When Jesus was asked what the most important law was, He answered, but He gave a bonus too: Love God with everything you have inside, and love others—your neighbors—as you do yourselves.
I think these concepts could even be considered over-arching themes of sorts. Of the Bible. Of our purpose in this world.
Because God loves us so much, He paid the ultimate price to restore our relationship with Him. All He wants from us in return is to love Him and others as much as we’re capable and rely on Him for even more.
#2 – Let go of the “us” and “them” mentality.
Our world can be an overwhelming place. It’s completely natural that we would find comfort in the familiar. It’s just more comfortable to be around others who believe—think and look— as we do.
But that’s not how we’re called to be as Christians. The only “us” there is for us is our brothers and sisters in Christ. The only “them” is those who are still lost, and we are called to reflect the undeserved love we have in Christ for them.
No other label matters.
#3 – Remember what we’ve been given.
Sharing this world with other people can be hard sometimes. It can be frustrating, challenging, and even scary. Others can let us down. Hurt us. Annoy us. Confuse us.
But as bad as anyone around me has been, I’ve been just as bad at one time or another. No offense, but I’m guessing the same would be true for you too.
Because, speaking of themes, that is an overarching theme of the Bible. We are all messed up. We all hurt, annoy, confuse, and frustrate those around us.
We just can’t help it sometimes. We react without thinking.
As messed up as we are, though, as much as we’ve hurt the One who loves us, He still treats us with mercy, compassion, and abundance. He still gave us His very self to have a relationship with us.
This list could go on. I had several things written down. Don’t treat life like a pie. Treat others as more important. Listen.
It could go on forever, but I think everything else I could say falls under one of the three points we’ve discussed already.
Some things in life are so simple. Maybe not easy but simple. Thank goodness, right?
Thank goodness that God simply loves us. Thank goodness that He sacrificed Himself and simply asks us to accept Him. Thank goodness He didn’t instead say, “You’re not worth my time.”
May we remember this humbling truth and love our neighbor like the Samaritan in Jesus’s story—and how God has loved us.
What reminders help you to be a good neighbor? Share in the comments below.
More reading
- The Samaritans: Hope from the History of a Hated People by Alyssa Roat from Bible Study Tools
- 4 Lies I No Longer Accept from HISsparrowBlog
- 7 Ways God’s Shown His Love to a Hurting World from HISsparrowBlog
I frequently link up with the following: Grace & Truth with Embracing the Unexpected, Tell His Story with Jeanne Takenaka, Let’s Have Coffee with Joanne Viola, and Blessing Bloggers with Deb Wolf.
Interestingly, the blog post I read just before yours made the same point–that we see ourselves as the heroes of the parables and miss the point. That post talked about how most of us are the “older brother” in the parable of the prodigal son.
In this parable, I tend to be more like the priest or Levite–going about my business, even thinking I am doing God’s business, and closed off from what my fellow humans are suffering. I like your points about how to be a good neighbor to whomever God places in our path.
Oh, yes. The parable of the prodigal son is a great example. I love how we bloggers touch on the same topics at the same time fairly often! Thanks for commenting, Barbara!
Thank you!
I do love my neighbors and yet we have a big shift on our street. Houses selling. Friends moving away. New people coming. And its been challenging. Thank you for writing.
That would be a challenge for me, too, Lisa. I don’t like change, but then I’m guessing most of us don’t when it really comes down to it. It can be a struggle to love new people moving in to your comfort zone. I pray your neighborhood finds a new equilibrium. Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
Ashley, this is a fantastic message. I love this story and have thought about who my neighbors are. Not just physical neighbors. But those near and far as well. I love how Jesus uses the least and unlikely. I’ve been both the one who walked by and the one who stops to help. I enjoy Jesus’ parables because as you said sometimes we just don’t get it.
Visiting today from Joanne’s
It’s so easy for us to get caught up in asking Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Like you said, our neighbors are those near and far. May we all see each other as our neighbors and love each other. Thank you so much for commenting!
As soon as I read the title of this post, I found myself humming the tune to a commercial which encourages us to be like a good neighbor 🙂 Neighbors – we want them defined and yet, Jesus throws that wide open. It was good to be reminded that we are all neighbors.
I bet I know what that song is. 😉 But yes, it’s so easy to focus on defining who our neighbors are when we’re called to treat everyone as our neighbors. Thank you so much reading, Joanne!