Who is my neighbor?

Recently I asked for some volunteers to help me to improve the Words for the Day website. (Actually it is going to be a major reconstruction effort and I am in need of some technical, creative and artistic help.) A well-meaning Christian friend of mine learned of the project and that I had asked for volunteers and asked me if I was not concerned that some of the people who volunteered might not be Christians. Huh?

First of all WFTD is for everyone’, and is most certainly not limited to “Christians”. The same holds true for the website. If a non-Christian will take the time and make the effort to help with the website I will welcome them with open arms and buy them some coke and pizza or even better a healthy Subway sandwich just like everyone else working on the project. Hopefully they will learn more about the love of Jesus through their experience of working on the project. Working with others who love the Lord just might persuade them that life is much better with Jesus than without. If not, then no harm no foul’; the website will be much improved and go on helping people with their daily walk for years to come.

My buddy is a very nice person and by no means is a hypocrite. He was just voicing out loud his concern for the project without giving it any thoughtful consideration. I cautioned him about this line of thinking and I would caution any Christian with similar thoughts to pray about this and to think’ before voicing this line of thinking to others.

There is a story told by Jesus in the Bible that reminds me of this kind of logic. A scribe, (or lawyer familiar with Mosaic law), asked Jesus a question about what commandment was most important. Jesus asked him what he thought, and he answered the command about you should love God with everything you can muster, (heart, soul, strength and mind), and second to that loving one’s neighbor in like fashion. Jesus answered him and told him he was correct. Then the scribe asked an interesting question, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus did not tell him that his neighbor was limited to Pharisees, Levites, scribes or even Jews, (perhaps the answer he was looking for). He answered instead by telling him a story about a man that had been beaten, robbed, stripped of his clothing, and left half dead lying in the road bleeding by some thieves. A Pharisee, (a priest and considered the pinnacle of religious authority at the time) came along and when he saw the man lying there quickly crossed over to the other side of the road and kept walking. Next a Levite, (a person who worked fulltime in the church performing various duties; another heavy-hitter’ in the religious realm), came along and did likewise. Finally a Samaritan, (despised half-breed’ person of mixed heritage widely disliked by Jews and Gentiles alike), came along. The Samaritan dressed his wounds and assisted the person and then took him to an Inn where he cared for him. The next day he left money with the Innkeeper to help this person and gave instructions to the innkeeper that if more money was needed, to go ahead and provide it to this person and the Samaritan would repay the innkeeper on his next visit. Jesus then asked the scribe who he thought was the neighbor’ to the person who fell among thieves.

Jesus made the point that ‘religious’ people should not let their ‘religion’ get in the way of being a Christian. Being a Christian is about loving one’s neighbor in the same way that Jesus loves all of humanity. Many people do not want anything to do with religion because of religious people and a bad experience with one or more of them. I always try to explain to people who relate to me that they do not go to church because of a bad experience with a ‘religious’ person that Christ is not to blame for the shortcomings of some people who are mistaken about the mission that Christians are on.

As Christians we should love our neighbors’, which means Christians and non-Christians. Christians are simply a group of people who love Jesus and want to be just like Him. Jesus is about love, mercy, kindness and inclusiveness. Anyone who understands this concept should want to become a Christian.

Jesus answered this scribe’s question with a question, “So which of these do you think was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?”

Luke 10:17
And he said, “He who showed
Mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to
him, “Go and do likewise.”