Do you remember reading in Luke 10 where the lawyer stands up to test Jesus? The lawyer ask the all familiar question, “What do I have to do…what is following You, in the hopes of eternal life gonna cost me?” The paraphrasing is my own. So Jesus tells him he has to love God with everything he has and is and…AND…he has to love his neighbor as himself. And just to clarify, you know, make sure he understood, he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” This is where Jesus goes into the story of the Good Samaritan.
So who is my neighbor? If we live in the city in an apartment, is it the people right above or below me? Across the green? Is it the whole complex? If we live in the suburbs, is my neighbor the people to the left and right? Behind and in front? Or is it the whole neighborhood? And in the country, the people on my road, the next section or the small town?
Yes to all of the above. Every single one them is our neighbor. We should love every single one of them as we love our self. Smile as we come and go. Watch out for each other and help each other if we know of or see a need. But we have more neighbors than just those listed above. What about the people living in your own home? Do they count as neighbors. Absolutely!
What? A warning about helping our neighbor? Yes, a warning.
We do not want to become more concerned with helping those outside our home, that we neglect those inside our home. {Click to Tweet That!}
Let’s not place a higher priority on cooking that delicious and nutritious meal for the new mom at church over taking care of our own home. It is so generous and greatly appreciated to take a meal to a family overwhelmed with joy, burdened with life or consumed with grief, but not at the expense of our own family.
We are to love our neighbor as ourselves so let’s take good care of the both of us.
I’m blogging for 31 Days reading the book of Sirach
Love it. Very true. 🙂
I really enjoyed this post! Making sure we don’t over extend ourselves and cause our family to suffer is a good key to remember.
Yes, it’s the overextending that is harmful. Someone posted a quote in my Twitter feed last night, “Don’t be a street angel and a house devil” So true!
What an interesting way to look at the Golden Rule. It’s so easy I think, for women especially, to put everyone else’s needs above their own to the point of hurting themselves.
So easy huh? And much more, if I can use the word–glamorous, to feed someone else a nice meal in a time in need instead of feeding our own–again–and again–and yet again.