I have been thinking a lot these days about who my neighbor is (in a biblical sense), what the Bible teaches about relationships with my “neighbors,” and all the challenging “how about…?” scenarios. Though it is often a struggle to love well consistently, the biblical guidance to love the people around me seems straightforward, without much in the way of exceptions.
Galatians 5:14 (NLT) – “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
There are many “neighbors” whom I am happily committed to loving. My local church is full of admirable people who love Jesus. Despite occasional disagreements with some of the guys in my weekly Bible study group, I certainly love and care about them.
But the teachings of Scripture go more broadly than that, right? Is anyone around me NOT my neighbor? How about the strangest of strangers or the person whose behavior I find to be offensive?
Hebrews 13:2 (NIV) – “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
Strangers are not the people I know. They are not the people I naturally gravitate towards, but they are around.
The Good Samaritan, as we learn of him in Jesus’ parable, did not know the robbed and beaten man. They were both traveling on the same road, likely on the way to do what they felt were important things, but they had very little else in common. The Good Samaritan wasn’t even supposed to like the guy. But…
Luke 10:33b (CSB) – “… when he saw the man, he had compassion.”
A lot of my work is focused on refugees and others who have been forcibly displaced from their country of origin. For me, it is easy to feel love and want to care for them. They have been through extremely difficult life experiences and eventually were invited to live and work in the United States indefinitely. It’s an honor to strive for being a good neighbor in my relationships with them.
Should it be the same way with asylum seekers? I think I should love them too.
How about the young college student whose behavior left me feeling kind of yucky? That’s a little more difficult, but I choose to love her.
How about the pushy guy who just insisted I give him a ride to Walmart? I choose to love him.
How about someone who just moved to town and is obviously a lot different than me? I’m learning and trying to love people like that.
There are lots of other scenarios. Some of the less straightforward ones are difficult to think through. Are there certain boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed? I probably wouldn’t be very loving towards someone intending harm against my family. How about someone involved in some sort of criminal activity? Should I love them just the same as I would anyone else?
Though biblical teaching seems pretty straightforward in the teaching to love our neighbor, the definition of what that love should look like in complicated scenarios causes me some mental struggle. As I listen to the news, spend significant time learning about immigration law processes, and analyze my day-to-day interactions, different scenarios feel… well… different. In the end, my hope is to love consistently, love wisely, and love well, even when it is confusing or difficult.