Being a Good Neighbor

A concept that resonated deeply with me from this past Sunday is about how we relate to each other. Is it healthy or is it toxic? 

When reflecting on toxic, I believe it to be about callousness and injustice. Healthy, to me, would be the opposite: compassion and equity. Healthy is humanizing, and toxic is dehumanizing. Healthy could also be understanding, whereas toxic could be ignorance. How are we relating to others? Are we building others up or pushing them to the side? Is it from a place of fear or of love?

This excerpt from All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks comes to mind: “Abuse and neglect negate love. Care and affirmation, the opposite of abuse and humiliation, are the foundation of love.”

Are we being helpful in how we relate to others, or are we causing harm?

… so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by 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, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii 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.”

- Luke 10:29-37

We are called to go and do likewise.