The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.
—Mark 12:31
What is your definition of a good neighbor? Is it someone who lets you borrow his lawnmower? A friend across the street who greets you as you come home? Maybe you simply want someone quiet who keeps to herself. Every person has a different ideal type of neighbor, but Christians should always be the number-one selection.
The world is full of prejudices, especially against Christianity. Non-believers seem to have a poor view of us and the way we act. It is not entirely our fault, but we are partially to blame. For some reason, we have a tendency to congregate amongst ourselves only. When Jesus walked the earth He visited the hurt and the sick. The people that we would probably consider “trash” were the ones that He knew needed Him the most. God doesn’t discriminate with His love, but unfortunately, we fall short sometimes.
To be a good neighbor, we must be good to our neighbors. God calls us to always offer a listening ear to them. We should love them greatly, no matter how different they may be than us. We should treat them as family, because we are all children of the Lord. That can seem like a pretty big task and in truth, it’s impossible to do on our own. We have to first love God before we can love one another in the way that He intended.
Today, ask God to show you the ways of a good neighbor. Pray that He would open your heart to their pleas and that you’ll be equipped to set aside any differences. And remember, neighbors are not just people who live in proximity
to us. They are also all the souls that we encounter at work and passing down
the street.
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