Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)

A Good Neighbor

By: Major José A. Guzmán

The Salvation Army

Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)

25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

***29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Illustration: (Mr. Fred Roger's last words)

In 1997 the 24th Emmy Awards, The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Mr. Fred Rogers. In his acceptance speech he said the following,

"Oh, it’s a beautiful night in this neighborhood!!! So many people have helped me to come to this night. Some are here, some are far way, some are even in Heaven. All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Think about those who have cared about you and wanted what was best for you in life. Ten seconds of silence; I'll watch the time."

They all waited ten seconds to remember the people that were of great positive influence in their lives. Many were very emotional and could not hold their tears. Then Mr. Rogers said; "Whoever you been thinking about; how please they must be to know the difference you feel they've made. You know they are the kind of people Television does well to offer our world."

As Mr. Rogers, I would like to take ten seconds to remember the people who have been a positive influence in your life. The ones who have helped you get to this point and be who you are!

(10 Seconds)

Illustration: My Neighbor Pepito

I thought about Pepito.

He was my next door neighbor? He was a working man with his family of five. Pepito worked for the Water Company. My family met this family when we both moved to our new development houses. Pepito was a family man who loved to go camping and organized street parties for all the neighbors. All the kids in our street loved Pepito. He was a good man.

When my father abandoned us, things got really complicated in my house. We struggled financially as my father was not around. My mother's salary only covered the mortgage and food. Many times if I needed something for school, Pepito would help me. When I was a teenager, the time for my 9th grade graduation came but I did not have any acceptable shoes to wear, my mother could not afford to get me the shoes and my father like always was nowhere to be found. Well Pepito, took me to the store to get the shoes and he paid for them.

When he noticed that I was having a rough day he would take me and my brothers camping with his family for two or three days.

Indeed, he was my neighbor. Yes, a good neighbor willing to sacrifice to help those around him. I will always remember Pepito, was always a positive influence to me and the entire neighborhood. He always had a kind and encouraging word for all. When he died I had the honor to speak on my behalf and on the behalf of all the neighbors who were positively influenced by him. It was not just me. He indeed, helped many from the street I grew up.

How much importance does God place on being a good neighbor?

Let us see what we are told in the following verses found in Matthew 22:37-40…
37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

He also states the following in Matthew 7:12…
12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Romans 13:9-10, reminds us of the following…
9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Love does no harm to anyone and it fulfills the law.

Loving your neighbor as yourself is the second greatest commandment. Christ says, “we are to treat others the way we want to be treated.” When dealing with people, we need to stop and think about how we would want to be treated, then, treat others in the same way.

Did you know that the last six of the Ten Commandments are summarized in this second great commandment?

12“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. / 13“You shall not murder.
14“You shall not commit adultery. / 15“You shall not steal.
16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. / 17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
12“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. / 13“You shall not murder.
14“You shall not commit adultery. / 15“You shall not steal.
16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. / 17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

All these commandment governed our relationship with our neighbors.

What should motivate us to be a good neighbor? For starters let us begin with…

Love and Compassion:

1 John 3:17…
7If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? (NIV)

Luke 10:33…
33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity (compassion) on him. (NIV)

We must show genuine compassion if we want to be able to genuinely help others. And this is only possible when God's love is in us.

Many individuals too often learn to shut their eyes and hearts to the needs around us. However, we are called to reverse that trend. Because those are the ways of this world and we should ask God to give us His love and the deep compassion which comes from a relationship with him.

Who is our neighbor?

Deuteronomy 10:19…

9And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. (NIV)

Another version states: 9"Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." (………what translation)

Matthew 5:43-48, reminds us of the following…
43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (NIV)

I recently read something which went like this…

“Love thy neighbor, the homeless neighbor, the dirty neighbor, the white neighbor, the black neighbor, the Latino neighbor, the Muslim neighbor, the Jewish neighbor, the gay neighbor, the atheist neighbor, Christian neighbor, the racist neighbor, the addicted neighbor, the sick neighbor, healthy neighbor, the intolerant neighbor, the annoying neighbor, the grouchy neighbor…Love thy Neighbor.”

Our neighbor is everyone around us. They are family, friends, strangers and even enemies—we are to treat them all the way we want to be treated. We are to show to them God's love and compassion.

What lessons can we learn from the parable of the "Good Samaritan"?

The Samaritan saw someone in need and had compassion. He could have easily continued on his way like the other two people did, but he stopped when he saw the man in need.

Next, the Samaritan temporarily put his needs on hold so he could assist this man who needed help now. The Samaritan sacrificed his time and money to help this stranger.

Finally, the Samaritan left quietly after he helped, and was not publicizing the good deed he had done (Matthew 6:1-4).

What else is required to be a good neighbor?

Humility:

Philippians 2:3-4…
3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (NIV)

Humility is also needed to be a good neighbor. We can't be selfish. We need to think about others and their needs. If our minds are focused on others and not just ourselves, we will be able to help others when we come across something they need.

A Giving Attitude

Let us look at the following verses and see what they say about attitude…

Proverbs 3:28…
28Do not say to your neighbor,“Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—when you already have it with you. (NIV)

1 John 3:18…
18Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (NIV)

James 1:27…
27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (NIV)

In order to be a good neighbor, we must take action. We must not only see the needs of others, we must act on those needs.

Perhaps, the need is simply opening a door for someone whose hands are full. Maybe the need is offering an encouraging word to someone who is depressed. Perhaps, a fatherless son would like to go fishing. Or some widow needs some company. It could be someone needs his car pulled out of a ditch. Whatever the need, we must show by our actions that we care about our neighbor.

The Bible only lists a few of the hundreds upon hundreds of good works Jesus Christ did for others and we are to follow His example. Most definite, an example, that led him to sacrifice himself for our good. (John 21:25; 1 John 2:6). (NIV)

What will be the end result of Loving our Neighbor?

Matthew 25:31-40…

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (NIV)

When we help our neighbor God sees it as helping Him. As well God wants for us to be good neighbors and we need to pay attention to what is going on around us.

Furthermore, we should make these practices a daily habit and remember to treat others the way you want to be treated. We need to set a goal today to do a good deed each day. For instance, set the following goals as practicing good manners and/or say an encouraging word to the person in need.

You will find that as you look for opportunities to help others the opportunities to help others will be more frequent. You will as well find that the better and/or nicer neighbor you become the more blessings you will receive. The more you help the more someone will remember you as one of the people which positively influenced their life.

Related Resources:

Who Is My Neighbor? By: James Choung

Bible Study Guides Lesson: How to Be a Good Neighbor