Won’t you be their neighbor?

As a boy, I enjoyed watching Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.  Many kids did.

We did not realize how countercultural his show was.  In a world full of division and hostility, Fred Rogers brought people together and showed us that we are all neighbors.

We need another show like that today, do we not?

Mr. Rogers made a point of showing us that a neighbor is not just someone who lives in a house nearby.  A neighbor is anyone sharing this planet with us.  And when we recognize that (which agrees with what the Bible states), the words of Jesus become clearer.  When asked what the most important thing in life is, Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and most important command.  The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Love is not just a feeling.  Love is acting on what is in your heart.  It is helping others just as we would want to be helped.

Sadly, most people do not fully love others.  At times we may feel empathy or sadness for others, but few people do anything about it.  We think that “feeling” is enough.

If you are a Christian, “feeling” is not enough.  We must take action.  Just consider what we read in James 2:15-17: “If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?  In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.”

There are plenty of opportunities to help others.  Our neighbors face pain, grief, sadness, financial pressure, unrealized expectations, and much more.  Just as you would want someone to help you in such situations, we must help others.

In fact, we have an opportunity to do something right now.  Hurricane Beryl brought pain and destruction to many of our “neighbors.”  Will we feel sorry for them, or will we be a good neighbor?

You may not be able to travel to Texas or the islands, but you can still help.  There are organizations helping right now that you can support (and pray for).  I am partial to Baptist Disaster Relief (one of the largest and most effective first-responders).  Because it involves trained volunteers (in cleanup and spiritual counseling), every dollar given goes directly to those facing crises.  You can donate through Southern Baptist churches or find them online.

The point is that we must be good neighbors – especially if you are a Christian.

Can you imagine a world like that?

Check out the following book to discover more about the kind of neighbor Mr. Rogers was…