What makes a good neighbor?
The English word “neighbor” has its origins in Old English meaning near-dweller. It was proximity that defined the neighbor. My first thoughts go to folks adjacent to me. After that initial thought, however, I realize there are bigger implications to the word.
The world is getting smaller
What defines distance anymore? As technology advances, the world draws closer to one another. In the past, a trip may take days on horseback; now with improved roads and more advanced transportation, it may take only a few hours. News that may have taken months to reach me now arrives almost instantaneously. I can know what is happening to my South Sudan neighbor at the same speed I know about a critical missing person in my city.
I rely on my neighbors on other continents provide many goods and services I use. Violent acts, unmet basic needs, and injustice flood my consciousness with immediacy though news and other media.
I can no longer think colloquially of my neighbor. I must find a broader understanding. Proximity is no longer the limitation it once was, except perhaps in my own attitudes. I feel like my understanding of who my neighbor is has being stretched since I was a child. The world of my adulthood is relatively small and my neighbors all closer than I imagined. Just who is my neighbor and what makes a neighbor good?
The one who showed mercy…
When Jesus was asked, “And who is my neighbor?” he replied with a story: Luke 10:29-37 also known as The “Good” Samaritan. I am convinced Jesus is on target: the neighbor as the one who shows mercy1. The neighbor is the one who shows unfailing love to all others. I have come to believe that my neighbors include all life and even to the planet. For me a good neighbor would embody unfailing love to the planet including everyone and everything.
A good neighbor is the one that shows unfailing love to all.
With this high bar for “good neighbors,” can anyone be a good neighbor? Maybe not all the time. However, in my everyday observations, I see goodness and kindness regularly; I also see the opposite, too. For myself, I will continue to strive to be the good neighbor, moment by moment.
- Jesus like used the term hesed from his Hebrew roots, a term that means mercy/kindness/unfailing love. ↩︎
Infinitely Precious 