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Essay: "Neighbors"

by Robert Cavazos
In the New Testament 'neighbor' occurs primarily in reference to the Old Testament. Jesus recognizes the narrowness of the definition of neighbor when he points out that the command permitted one to hate your enemy; "you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy" (Matthew 5:43. Jesus intensifies the ethic, fulfilling rather than destroying the law as stressed through out Matthew; Christians are to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:43-46).

Jesus quotes Leviticus 19:18 with approval, calling it the first and principal one of all commands: "you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul and out of and with your mind and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30). Nevertheless, Jesus brings the second command on a par with the first and principal one, he said: "the second command is like the first command and is this; you shall love your neighbor as you love thyself." There is no other commandment greater than these.

The ethical dilemma in Judaism was, as the lawyer recognizes, 'who is my neighbor?' According to the Old Testament the answer was a fellow member of the covenant, but the various Jewish sects tended to exclude all outside the particular group. Jesus' response was to redefine the relationship between love and neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29:37). The priest and the Levite are both fellow members of the covenant and therefore 'neighbors' in the Old Testament sense, but they ignore the injured man; the Samaritan is neither a resident not a Jew, but he shows compassion to the helpless victim. Jesus point is that neighborliness is not a precondition of love but a consequence of it: the one who 'proved to be a neighbor' was the one who showed mercy (Luke 10:36-37).

Now with the accurate definition of a neighbor in action, ask yourself within your heart if you so love God with all your heart? If you really do love God then it is easy to love your neighbor as yourself. If you are having trouble loving your neighbor as yourself then please reconsider loving God with all you heart.

It is of great value to judge yourself and not your fellow neighbor. Jesus taught that it is because it is better to show mercy to your neighbors. Show mercy by not judging. Take heed to the words of the Apostol Paul; "I have learned how to be content in whatever state I am" (Philippians 4:11). Godliness accompanied with contentment is great and abundant gain (Timothy 6:6). Have this type of contentment and you will be a good neighbor who never covets his neighbor's possessions.

In conclusion, the whole law concerning human relationships is complied within the one precept, "Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself". Here the law is reduced to the lowest common denominator. This is the acid test for those who think they are living by the law. The one word is Love.