1. Do you remember when neighbors knew one another? When they might sit on their front porches and talk? When they invited one another over for meals or games?
2. Things have really changed, haven’t they?
3. The Boston Globe ran this story some time back:
It can never be said that Adele Gaboury’s neighbors were less than responsible. When her front lawn grew hip-high, they had a local boy mow it down. When her pipes froze and burst, they had the water turned off. When the mail spilled out the front door, they called the police. The only thing they didn’t do was check to see if she was alive.
She wasn’t.
On a Monday, police climbed her crumbling brick stoop, broke in the side door of her little blue house, and found what they believe to be the seventy-three-year-old woman’s skeletal remains sunk in a five-foot-high pile of trash where they had apparently lain, perhaps for as long as four years.
Eileen Dugan, seventy, once a close friend of Gaboury’s, whose house sits less than twenty feet from the dead woman’s home said, “It’s not really a very friendly neighborhood; I’m as much to blame as anyone. She was alone and needed someone to talk to, but I was working two jobs and I was sick of her coming over at all hours. Eventually I stopped answering the door.”
Nobody was out there for Adele Gaboury. Who are you “there” for? Who is “there” for you?
I. A Modern Definition of a Good Neighbor
Shane, a White homeowner, defines a “good neighbor” as one who maintains a respectful distance.
A. A Good Neighbor Minds His Own Business
US Good Neighbor Policy: A US policy of nonintervention to encourage friendly relations among the nations of the Western Hemisphere, presented by FDR in 1933
B. A Good Neighbor is Virtually Invisible to Others
Maybe waves from his driveway
Rarely, if ever interacts; when he does it is on a superficial level “Good morning. . .”
C. A Good Neighbor Takes Care of Himself/His Family/His Property [Washington Post 9 Things Etiquette Experts Say a Good Neighbor Should Do:
1. Keep Up Curb Appeal (an property values)
2. Be a Responsible Pet Owner
3. Share Important Information (a good lawn mowing service; handyman; etc.
4. Abide by Community Rules
5. Handle Conflict
6. Be Respectful When Hosting Parties [music; noise; cars; etc.
7. Don’t Gossip [Share news births and deaths, etc., however
8. Invite Neighbors Over
9. Organize Service Projects for Neighbors in Need
From https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/want-to-be-a-great-neighbor-heres-how-to-start/2018/10/01/77939c08-c0cd-11e8-90c9-23f963eea204_story.html
D. A Good Neighbor is Available in Emergencies
[State Farm Motto: “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There”
II. Another View of a Good Neighbor –
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Gloria, a Puerto Rican public housing resident, says good neighbors are like family: “We all know each other and we all help each other. If someone over here screams, I call the ambulance. It’s a community and everybody is connected.”
A. God is a God of Community
B. God Created Us for Community/Within and Beyond Physical Neighborhoods
C. Characteristics of a Good Neighbor Leviticus 19.9-18
1. Generous Spirit – Leviticus 19:9-10
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.
a. Leave some of the crops for others
b. Intentional means of being a neighbor to the poor and stranger
2. Honest Heart – Leviticus 19:11-18a
11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. 13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD. 15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD. 7 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people,
a. Honesty, the best policy [Jacob and his deceptions
b. The nature of God – 1 Thessalonians 1:9b "living and true God,"
3. Loving Nature – Leviticus 19:18b but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
a. Love/do good to Neighbors – not because neighbors are lovely or necessarily deserving but because God does; btw, our emotions follow our actions; [PraYukon and Beyond
b. This is a summary of previous thoughts
c. Jesus teaches it as intended – Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
[Did you know all neighbors don’t get along – barking dogs; bushy trees; mischievous children; nosey;
1. Check our motives:
A mother found under her place one morning at breakfast a bill made out by her small son, Bradley, aged eight—Mother owes Bradley: for running errands, 25 cents; for being good, 10 cents; for taking music lessons, 15 cents; for extras, 5 cents. Total: 55 cents.
Mother smiled but made no comment. At lunch Bradley found the bill under his plate with 55 cents and another piece of paper neatly folded like the first. Opening it he read—Bradley owes Mother: for nursing him through scarlet fever, nothing; for being good to him, nothing; for clothes, shoes and playthings, nothing; for his playroom, nothing; for his meals, nothing. Total: nothing.
2. Imitate our God
