Like A Good Neighbor
There are many messages that we can learn that help us grow in our relationship to Christ, but one of the most important is learning what it means to follow the golden rule loving your neighbor as yourself.
“If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet. Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled. Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together. Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.”
Deuteronomy 22:1-2, 4-5, 9-12
Can you recall the television show Mr. Rogers Neighborhood? Mr. Rogers regularly asked will you be my neighbor. How amazing would it have been to have Mr. Rogers, a man of faith and humility, as your neighbor? One commandment that Jesus reinforces when teaching His disciples was to love their neighbors. Most people would agree that they want good neighbors and likely that they would consider themselves a good neighbor. God establishes a rule about what it means to be a good neighbor. Notice that God does not say that avoiding doing wrong means that someone is a good neighbor. Like Jesus did in the sermon on the mount, God sets the standard of what it means to be a kingdom neighbor in terms of the good that each of us are called to do. Technically, there you would be doing nothing wrong if you ignored your neighbor's wandering sheep, but you would not be doing the good you could do in that moment. God calls us to do the good we can. Is there anything you know you could do to help someone else today that you have put off?
God says do not plant two kinds of seeds in the same vineyard. Jesus told a similar parable about how weeds and the word of God can both grow in the gardens of our hearts. What would be two kinds of plants that you could be growing without even knowing it? Consider if you have been planting the seeds of avoidance theology or whether you are planting the seeds of the good neighbor theology. Mark Batterson says you can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right. The kingdom of heaven is a call to create love, sing a new song, do good, and impact the world with the gifts we have been given. It is not a call to not mess up.
“In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful"
Psalms 25:1, 3-10, 16, 21
David says shame will come on those who are without cause. What does that mean to you? What is your cause? What does it mean to you to pick up your daily cross? David, a mighty king, humbles himself and asks the Lord to teach him the way. In this declaration David reveals to those who will listen his cause. What matters most to David is God's will being done. He says not my way, but your way Lord. Not the way of selfishness, pride, or arrogance. His cause is not a life of avoidance nor is it his own comfort or glory. What moves David? The gift of hope that God gives to those who love Him.
What moves you? What gets you out of bed each day? Where do you find meaning in your life? David does not let his past, his imperfections, nor his insecurity about his own plan keep him from pursuing God. The enemy of your life wants to use your past or your weaknesses to get you off the path of aligning your life with the Lord your God. David does not say that God only talks to perfect people. He knows he is a sinner in need of a savior. He says God instructs sinners and the humble. You might think these are contradictory terms, but they are not. The heart of a sinner and the heart of a righteous person can be either humble or proud. The seeds of God's love will grow in the garden of a humble heart. How could you till your heart today to allow the love and faithfulness of God to grow in you?
“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will exact life for life. Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.”
Proverbs 22:1-2, 4, 6, 9, 19, 21-25
Look around the world we live in and consider whose names are most celebrated. Is it not the wealthy, powerful, or famous? The world loves to celebrate those who have earthly success albeit in the things that are temporary and transient. Solomon says a good name is more desirable than great riches. What does that mean to you and how could it impact how you live? Are you focused more on doing the next right thing helping bring justice and righteousness to the world or on doing what will help increase your bank account or build your resume? Are you living in such a way that what matters most to God is elevated in how you live?
Solomon quickly turns our attention from ourselves to others. Jesus often did the same thing. How often did Jesus stand on a pedestal to exalt himself? Never. His focus was to bring help and healing to those in need while glorifying God through how His actions shined the light on the goodness of His Father. We have the same calling. People will never remember a person who lived a life where they avoided doing bad. People of impact are those who do good, those who help others, those who are generous to the poor, and give a hand to those in need. Solomon says teach your children to see how giving and serving bring meaning to your life and demonstrate living in God's ways. Where are you giving? Where are you serving? Can we truly say that we are following Jesus if we do not have ways in which we are doing both? Jesus always calls us out of our comfort zones that we might become people who help comfort others.
“It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation. The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue..All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.” At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
Daniel 4:2-3, 26-32, 34-35, 37
What a contrast we can see between David, a king who exalt God, and Nebuchadnezzar who exalts himself. God alone is worthy of our worship and exultation. David saw all that he had as a gift from God and his heart was generous. Nebuchadnezzar saw all that he has as something earned by his own hands and he chose to give himself praise. Who do you think was a better neighbor, better king, better friend? God does not take lightly to this approach, nor will he accept second place to an earthly king of His creation. Should we judge Nebuchadnezzar? Is it not easy to fall into the same trap where we start to think that we have what we have because of our own hard work? Do we not get to a place of confidence and comfort in what we have and what we do? What does that do to where we put our trust and our hope?
Consider how our faith walk can fall into the same pattern. Do you feel good about your walk with Jesus and the road you are on to heaven because you do good, go to church, or practice spiritual disciplines? Do you get the credit? Or are we like David, desperately aware that we are all two decisions from living in the gutter or on the street, deserving of punishment for our sin, and saved by the grace of God alone. Are we not sinners in need of instructions who are saved from our old ways of being like Nebuchadnezzar so that we can live like David with love in our hearts for our Heavenly Father?
The good news is God is a God of redemption, restoration, and resurrection. God does not leave Nebuchadnezzar in the gutter. He allows him to learn from the pain of his decisions so that his tests will turn into a testimony. The discipline that he endures is part of how he receives God's love so that he can live out a life of devotion. It might take seven years or seventy years for some of us to realize that God alone is worthy of praise, exaltation, and glory, but what matters most is that we learn to live with humility every moment of every day. Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit.
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life."
Philippians 2:1-11, 14-16, 21
There are times where using the extreme examples or analogies can help us reveal the truth. Paul calls out the people by using the extremes to his advantage because he knows that there is no way of denying the impact God's love on a person's heart. Paul says if you have any encouragement, any comfort, any blessing of the spirit whether it is more peace, joy, patience, gentleness, love, integrity, balance, hope or other fruit, or any other experience of transformation you have experienced because of the tenderness or compassion Jesus Christ then in response choose to love others like you have been loved. Paul says Jesus has been a good neighbor to you. He has brought you all that you needed, when you needed it most, and He did so with grace. He says look at what Jesus did! Jesus chose to humble himself to the point of death to make a way for you to live. He chose the path of humility. He sacrificed it all. All the glory and honor of heaven. He gave it up for you. Is that not a humbling thought?
How often do you start your day by thinking about the humility of Jesus, the sacrifice of Jesus, the love you have received from Jesus? What would happen if we started every day by giving thanks to God with hearts of humility to the One who was more humble than anyone who has ever lived? What would happen if we counted our blessings and chose to not speak an anxious word until we had full praised God for all He has done, is doing, and will do?
Paul knows what it is to think you are right and do the wrong thing. He knows what it was like to do live out of selfish ambition and vain conceit because he had been that man before he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was not judging the people of Phillipi, he was sharing his own testimony. What does Paul warn against that he had experienced? Pride, judgment, following the wrong path, grumbling or arguing, living for yourself and not for others. The list could go on and on, but at the core Paul is saying treat others as you have been treated by Jesus. As children of God, choose to reflect your Heavenly Father in how you live out the golden rule. There is a simple rule for how to do this and it makes up an easy to remember acrostic. JOY. Jesus Others You. If you can remember the order of operations in which you pray and pursue blessing you will see God do amazing things in and through you.
We tend to get the order backwards. We tend to say Jesus hear are my fears and needs on repeat. Some times we will make room to pray for people we care about who are having a hard time. How often do we simply pray to praise Jesus for what He has done and who He is without attaching one of our own desires? Paul says do nothing out of selfish ambition and that includes our own prayers lives. There is a tension here because Jesus does explicitly tell us to pray, ask, seek, and knock, but He does not say we need to place ourselves first. This is the key that Paul is trying to teach us. Jesus always said change the way you are thinking and one of the first changes that needs to take place is humbling ourselves and elevating Jesus and others. Focus on being a good neighbor to others before asking God to be a good neighbor to you. The order matters. Paul says humble yourself like Nebuchadnezzar and David did. There is one name that should be exalted and it is not your own. It is Jesus' name. The name at which every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord. The question is not if Jesus will be honored one day. The question is if He will be honored by each of us this day.