"And Who Is My Neighbor?”

“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18 NKJV

In the Old Testament, God gave Moses the 10 Commandments. These Commandments actually comprises of two parts:

“Our duties to God and are duties to our fellow human beings.”

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ explained very clearly, the importance and significance of these duties. In Matthew 22:34-40:

“But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” NKJV

The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the popular stories in the Bible. A lawyer had come to Jesus to test him, but he ended up being the one tested by Jesus. He wanted to know how he could inherit eternal life but ended up with a lesson on Good Neighborliness. In Luke 10:25-37:

“And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading” So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded and departed, leaving half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So, he went to and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So, which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” NKJV

In the Greek language, the word “neighbor” means “someone who is near”. So, you can call that the “Proximity test”. However, in the Hebrew language, the same word means “someone you have an association with”. So, the Hebrew meaning is broader than the Greek meaning.

We are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. The world has become a global village, so neighborhoods have become very diversified. Thus, we have people from different cultures, backgrounds and ethnicity living in the same neighborhood.

As Christians, and most significantly as human beings, how do we love our neighbors? How do we relate to them?

We just read about the Parable of the Good Samaritan. We saw how the Priest who is supposed to be full of compassion for a fellow human being did not lift a finger to help a person in need. We also saw a Levite, an expert in law, turn his face away and refused to lend a helping hand. We now saw how a Samaritan, one who was despised by the Jews, not only help him, but paid for his comfort and promised to return to take care of any outstanding bills that the wounded man might incur.

The commandment to “love your neighbor” does not mean that you have to agree with them. You can help them when the opportunity arises. However, most importantly, do not hurt, harm or injure your neighbor.

Let’s look at what the Bible says about our neighbors.

In Proverbs 27:10:

Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.” NKJV

In Exodus 20:16-17: