On Loving Thy Neighbor

Luke 10:36-37 - "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

I've been thinking about writing this for quite some time. It's not everyday that I get a chance to sit down and really write out my thoughts so I think that, on a rainy day like today, I should seize the opportunity while I can. More than that, it seems like the world has been conspiring against me to prevent me from actually putting pen to paper (or, more accurately, bits to hard drives). It's probably a good thing because it gives me a while to stew on things and rewrite my line of thinking over and over again.

I think it goes without saying that there is a lot of hate in the world today. Whether it's a fear of the unknown and strange, a lack of personal security, or any other source of venomous vitriol that stirs the conscious mind to harbor feelings of anxiety, fear, and hatred, the consequences of this state of being are quite clear: oppression, destruction, and death. We can run on for a long time but sooner or later what is sown will be reaped.

As any wise man will tell you, the only way out is to acknowledge failings, turn away from hatred, and make amends with your neighbors. The three R's: realize, repent, and reconcile.

We know this and yet it is so easy to fall prey to tribalism. It is so easy to turn a reasonable discussion on differing opinions into an "us vs them" free-for-all. It is so easy to turn personal opinions into distinguishing factors between who is my enemy and who is my friend. It is so easy to forget who my neighbor is.

Let's take a look at a couple of current examples.

Sexual Orientation Discrimination vs Religious Freedom

If you haven't been made aware of the Indiana law known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, then you either don't live in the US or need to spend less time thinking about the color of dresses. Depending on your political leaning, this law can either be seen as an honorable way to help a florist with deeply-held religious convictions not be burdened with guilt when they are forced to go against those religious convictions or as a deplorable way to help bigoted business owners discriminate against people whose lifestyles they disagree with. I have heard both sides of this debate cry out about being persecuted. I have heard liberal commentators and conservative pastors alike bemoan the current state of our nation and prophesize that it will only get worse.

Some of the most respectable people I know, indeed, even some of my personal heroes are homosexual. On the flip-side, people of great spiritual fortitude, whose opinion I revere and respect, would give (and have given) high praise to the ideals of RFRA.

Who, then, is my neighbor?

As-Salamu Alaykum vs ISIS

I cannot begin to express how deplorable I think the acts of violence that ISIS has committed are. I shutter to think of the depravity that a man's mind must fall into to believe, wholeheartedly, that God, the great sustainer and restorer of the universe, condones random acts of violence in His name. A god that tells you that truly and literally that hating your fellow man is not only permissible but necessary is not a god worth serving.

However, the question arises: Is this the fruit of Islam?

Personally, I believe the answer is a resounding no. I am not so disillusioned by my current surroundings in a loving environment to forget about the planks in the eye of every world religion, including my own. If ISIS is the fruit of Islam, then the Crusades are a fruit of Christianity. If terrorism is the fruit of Islam, then Stalinism is the fruit of Atheism. Let the major world religion without a group of corrupted individuals in it throw the first stone.

Some of the most peaceable people I know are Muslims. Some of the most violent people I know claim Christianity as their own.

Who, then, is my neighbor?

Cutters vs Healers

Recently, I started driving a woman to church when she needed some help doing so. Before you think well of me, you must know that this was not my own idea, it has happened only a handful of times, and, when I started, the idea of it made me very uncomfortable. Here was a woman who enjoyed life to the fullest and wildest in her younger days and, now, she worked at a fast-food restaurant and couldn't afford to get her car fixed just yet. Working for a fast-food restaurant myself in high school, I had a general stereotype for grown adults that did this kind of job that was none too positive.

She's been quite talkative on our long hauls to church. After all, it takes us a good half hour to get there so sitting in silence would be quite awkward. In one of our trips she talked about the previous day at work.

She was working at the register when a teenage girl and her mother came up to the counter wanting to order some food. They exchanged a few words to get the order in and, for a moment during this time, she noticed that the girl had self-inflicted cuts all down her arm. She didn't say anything immediately but she knew, right then and there, that she needed to do something.

After the food was prepared, she decided to go deliver the food herself to the young woman. When she got to the table, this woman discretely laid a hand on the girl's cut arm (as to not raise an alarm with her mother) and made her realize her value through the words she spoke to her. Afterwards, the young woman came up to the counter and thanked her profusely for this small act of kindness. The two exchanged phone numbers and began a dialog with one another. In this way, they found worth in one another. In this way, healing can truly begin.

Sowing seeds

When it all comes down to it, we all have choices we need to make. When you plant corn, you shouldn't expect squash. When you plant soy beans, you shouldn't expect strawberries. When you plant the seeds of hatred, you shouldn't expect to reap a full harvest of love and devotion. It is true that tribes can (and do) form around ideas of hatred and insulate themselves so much that they only love one another but, in the end, this will only lead to mutually-assured destruction.

There are those who cut and those who heal. There are those who make war and those who make peace. There are those who build walls and those who build bridges.

Who, then, is my neighbor?