On our way to run some errands today we had to stop and fill up our gas tank. We've all been hearing about as well as experiencing the increased prices at the pumps. It struck me how things are changing in our world everyday and how we will have to rely on our local communities for survival.
This brought me to the thought of our blog feature here at Wise and Glorious Purpose - talk to you neighbor Tuesdays. I realized that I hadn't done a TTYNT post in while in part because our only neighbors abandoned their home (kinda weird, I know) and since no one else has moved in, I've been neighborless for about four months.
But wait, am I really neighborless?
Of course not! I live in a town of 5,000 people, I have LOTS of neighbors! So I got excited about looking at my community not through the often times jaded view of a long time resident but through a fresh view of love and tolerance.
So I got out my scriptures to see what they have to say about neighborliness.
Boy, do the scriptures have something to say! A scripture search for the word "neighbor" returned 178 hits on the LDS scriptures site!
I think our Heavenly Father may have a thing or two to say on the matter!
So here is my list of the top best ideas scriptures gives us on being neighborly
Don't Want What They Have
This is a hard one. We humans don't just do this with our neighbors but we tend to do this with EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. I know I am super guilty of coveting. On a recent trip, with a stay in a hotel, I watched a home improvement show on the TV. They had glamorous designers coming in making over people's homes and by the time I got back to my home I felt terrible about where I lived! It looked like such a dump compared to the those TV houses!
Yikes! It's time to be thankful for what I have and not what someone else might have! Striving for what's across the fence is an endless and futile battle."Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s." - Exodus 20:17
- Be Responsible With Other People's Things
Oh my goodness, how many times have I done this? I am awful at returning books I have borrowed. I swear some books on my shelf I borrowed 10 years ago, yet there they sit. Oh, and I have two baking dishes that should have gone back to friends years ago *sigh*
It's a common idea but one that could probably use some freshening up in all our eyes. Don't break or lose things you borrow form your neighbor, and for Heaven's sake, at least give them back and pay for any damage.
"If thou borrowest of thy neighbor, thou shalt restore that which thou hast borrowed; and if thou canst not repay then go straightway and tell thy neighbor, lest he condemn thee." - D and C 136:35
- Forgive Your Neighbor When He Doesn't Return Your Things
"And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord’s release." -Deuteronomy 15:2
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Love Thy Neighbor
Probably one of the most classic lines form the Bible yet probably the one least followed is "love thy neighbor as thy self." You know why? 'Cos it's hard! Have you tried? Have you really tried loving your neighbor as yourself? I know I have put passionate thought and effort into it in the past and lasted all of seconds before the effort was simply too great.
But we should never stop trying! We can't be perfect, God knows this, but he expects us to try, to really try. So meditate on this every now and again. Practice just loving your neighbor. You don't have do anything, just love them and see what a difference it makes!
"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." - Matthew 22:39
What is your favorite scripture on neighborliness?
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