Being a Good Neighbor

Who is my neighbor?

“I should like to talk with you about a good man, whose exemplary life will always be a flashing light to plague the dozing conscience of mankind.  His goodness was not found in a passive commitment to a particular creed, but in his active participation in a life-saving deed; not in a moral pilgrimage that reached its destination point, but in a love ethic by which he journeyed life’s highway.  He was good because he was a good neighbor.”

                                  Martin Luther King, Jr.

“But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘and who is my neighbor?’”

                                  Luke 10:29

         I don’t know of anyone who could ‘convict’ you more with his sermons than Martin Luther King, Jr.  He was a master of moving people to action with his charismatic personality and his powerful words.  He had no problem speaking about the ‘dozing conscience of mankind’ or ‘the appalling silence of good people’.  He could make you squirm in the pew for all the inertia in your life.  He had no use for people who take the high road or the easy way out.

         Every Sunday school child knows the parable of the Good Samaritan.  The poor man beaten and left for dead by the side of the road, the priest and the Levite who pass him by, only to have a Samaritan, an untouchable, take pity on him and tend his wounds. There is no lack of beaten and robbed people in the world, and thankfully, no lack of Good Samaritans either.  So, how do you discover your path of service?  Should everyone make it their business to serve the homeless?  Should everyone build homes for Habitat, join the Peace Corps, lobby against the death penalty?  Are you a bad person if you don’t do these things?

         This is a question one must answer for oneself.  My opinion is that one should do what one is moved to do.  When the Samaritan saw the battered man, we are told ‘he took pity.’  He was moved to help.  His giving came from a genuine place of compassion.  There are many avenues of service, and many ways to be a good neighbor.  I am always astounded at the way Americans step up to the plate when there is a disaster anywhere in the world.  We give our money and our resources; we put together food shipments and train cars full of clothing and blankets.  We volunteer our hands, our backs and our time.  Even in these difficult economic times when the average American is hurting financially, we give what we can.  We are, by and large, a nation of compassionate people.

         When you are moved by empathy to help someone else, you are being a true neighbor.  You do not have to be ‘good’ in a certain way, or just because you feel guilty for all that you have.  You can give in small ways—speak a kind word, share a meal, donate your clothing, offer a ride—whatever your heart calls you to do.  In reality, the parable is about kindness---kindness that comes from genuine compassion.

                                  Shalom,

                                  Jane