Who Is Your Neighbor?
I asked this question of the children at Parent’s Day Out this last week and they caught on pretty quickly to the answer that most of us would give. That our geographic neighbors might be limited to those in our neighborhood or those who live in or near our city, but our spiritual neighbors, the neighbors that Jesus was talking about, aren’t really limited. Any person could be our neighbor. In fact, this whole concept is perhaps best illustrated by Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood- anybody could be invited to be a neighbor on the show. And sometimes those invitations were powerful reminders for people that God loves everyone.
For me, that is what that commandment boils down to. That we are supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves and since we are nobodies who could be anybody, then anybody could be the somebody we are showing God’s love to. There’s no economic status, no race, no country of origin, no limiting factor on who our neighbor is. God made that person, God loves that person, and with God’s help, we can do the same.
I’m not sure if we can call the question of who is your neighbor good and settled, especially since we seem to see so much of the “us vs. them” mentality in the world, but it feels as if theologically speaking it would be a hard argument to say that God loves everyone except for _____, so they cannot be my neighbor. If you ponder for just a moment about things that separate people in the most arbitrary ways, you’ll realize how silly this sounds. Fill in that blank with “people who like crunchy peanut butter rather than smooth” and you sound like you don’t know what you’re talking about. I’d argue that sports teams, political parties, and more sound just as out of touch with the intention of the scripture. The parable that talks about this specifically mentions treating a mortal enemy as family- you may remember the tale of the Good Samaritan? But if you disagree with the idea that anybody should be or could be your neighbor, I’d encourage you to go do some praying on that before you move on to the next theological concept I’m about to throw out.
If everyone can be your neighbor, that means we have to do something that is really hard. We have to not judge, offer the same grace and mercy that God offers us, and allow for the same freedoms in Christ that we enjoy.
Maybe take a moment and read that again. We have to not judge, offer the same grace and mercy that God offers us, and allow for the same freedoms in Christ that we enjoy.
Judging others is easy. “Well, I would never do that.” or “Can you believe she did that?” are the sort of statements that start off a judgment. You have made an observation that the actions of someone else are moral, sinful, or immoral. And that’s not to say that if you have a relationship with someone you cannot hold them accountable, because you can. This applies more to strangers, acquaintances, or those near to you that aren’t dear to you. Would you want someone else to look at every choice you’ve made in life and tell you that something is a sin? As a United Methodist, would I want to be judged for dancing (as some traditions consider dancing a sin)? People who do not even know me probably think I’m a heretic because I did ballet or, as the kids used to say, busted a move on the dance floor.
The same grace and mercy that God offers are abundant and freely available (but not cheap). Are you the first to forgive? Do you seek to walk humbly, do justice, and live mercifully as God teaches us? This has more to do with those neighbors who are closer in to you as those who know us best can hurt us the worst. Are you willing to forgive? Are you willing to assume the best about someone rather than jump to the conclusion that they have the worst intentions? Do your judgments of their moral character make you more or less likely to offer them grace? When I hear that some churches require you to be a card carrying member to participate in worship or spiritual activities, I take issue with that. Loving our neighbors means all our neighbors, with the same conditions that God asks of us. We don’t have to deserve it, we don’t earn it, and it’s not under our own power.
And as for the same freedoms, this ties back in to the first two. When you woke up this morning, did somebody tell you that you were a sinner? That you’re condemned for your sins? Or is the good news of Christ’s grace and mercy that which liberates you from the burden of your sins? In theory, when truly loving a neighbor, you would offer them the same latitude and freedom to decide for themselves what good looks like. What is a sin for one may not be a sin for another. And if you need a concrete example that treats sin as poison, consider food allergies. If you’re deathly allergic to peanuts, don’t eat the peanut brittle, it’ll kill you. And even if you aren’t allergic, too much of it can make you sick. Sin acts in much the same way. For some, a specific sin might hurt your soul greatly while for others, in moderation, the exact same thing might be nourishment. It’s complicated to parse out for ourselves and letting God be the judge seems to be the simplest, most Christlike, and most honest way to love a neighbor.
In short, who is your neighbor? Yes. It’s the how that we still need to ponder a bit more.
