Won't you be my neighbor?

A few weeks ago I was talking to some fellow Christians.  I left the conversation feeling very flustered that it seemed they expected a perfect world. You know, a great spouse, two Christian kids who do no wrong, a cute dog, lots of money, and no worries.  Okay, I'll admit, those things would be great (except the dog part), but even with all those things, life isn't perfect..  Since Adam and Eve, the world has been FAR from perfect. We live in and around sin, so our lives aren't going to be perfect. 

One of our duties as a Christian is to be a light to the (imperfect and sinful) world.  ("You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven"  Matthew 5:14-16)  We can't be a light to the world by shutting ourselves into our little "perfect life box" and never coming out. 

Remember the song This Little Light of Mine?  There is a verse that says "Hide it under a bushel? NO! I'm going to let it shine!"  How many of us are hiding our lights under a bushel?  Maybe not intentionally, but I see it everyday.  We stay away from the "bad" neighborhoods.  We walk on the other side of the street when we see a homeless person.  We enroll our kids in Christian school to keep them away from the "bad kids".  I'm not bashing Christian schools here... my point is just that in order to dispel darkness, we have to take our light into it.  We need to associate with the non-believers around us.  We have to be careful so that we don't get entangled in sin, but that doesn't mean that we have to avoid people who live a life of sin like they have the plague.  Ephesians 5:11 says "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them"   We can't live in our little bubble... we have to go out into the field and shine our light for the whole world to see.   It seems that Christians are too afraid of getting their hands dirty.  We forget we are supposed to be Christ-like.  Christ got his hands dirty during his ministry, so why should we be exempt from that?


This past weekend I was in Savannah. As we were walking down River Street, I spotted a man digging into a trash can and pulling food out of a McDonald's bag.  I think I threw up in my mouth a little.  But then I promptly pulled it together, marched my little self over to him and touched him on the shoulder.  He was so shocked that someone actually touched him, he didn't know what to do.  I said "Sir, I thought you could use this water and my snacks"  He gladly accepted him and went on his way.  As he walked away, I looked around and watched as an entire street of people just scattered to get away from him.   GRRRR.  The streets of Savannah almost heard a mini sermon from this little fire cracker. 

It would've went a little like this...


Luke 10:25-37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."
 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.
 ^"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
 Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

The priest and the Levite passed on the other side and left the man to die.  The people on the streets of Savannah had no mercy or concern for that poor man.

Another story..... About a year ago, there was a story about a homeless man in New York City who had tried to break up a fight between a man and a woman.  The man had a knife and stabbed the homeless man.  The homeless man laid in the streets of New York for over an hour before someone finally called for help.  Watch what happens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmknOKkaPEI

That is absurd to me. The man was trying to help someone out and ended up dying because people wouldn't help him.  You have to wonder what would've happened if the man would've been wearing a suit and tie.  Have we really become so busy that we are not concerned about our fellow humans?  Regardless if this man was dirty or homeless, he was a HUMAN BEING.

We are called to love our neighbors.  Take a look around today at your neighbors. Your next door neighbor.  The person in the next cubicle.  The person who cut you off.  The cashier.  The waitress.  The homeless.  The disabled.   Are you treating them as you would treat yourself?