A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Wednesday,
June 16,
2021
"A
Lesson From A Good Neighbor"
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"Better
is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away"
(Proverbs 27:10). "Each one helps his neighbor and
says to his brother, 'Be strong!'" (Isaiah 41:6).
This morning an older man
walked by our home with his dog as he has for a few
years. We know just when he's coming because our dog,
Mollie, always alerts us with her watchdog bark. He's
always carrying a large empty plastic bag in one hand
and holding onto his dog's leash in the other. About
30 minutes later we see him walk by our house again
with a full plastic bag.
This
plastic bag puzzled us for some time as we
assumed he was practicing dog walker's etiquette by
picking up his own dog's waste but no dog's waste
fills a large plastic bag so that was not the answer
(sorry to be graphic here). Since he lives way up the
road in a development we've not yet met him so we
asked another dog walker friend if he knew why this
man walks with a large bag daily and he admitted he
was curious just like us, but didn't know either. He
too had observed him going out with the empty bag but
seeing it filled to the brim coming back.
Several
weeks ago we were on our way to work early in the
morning, spotted the man walking along a major road
and discovered the reason for the full bag. He
was picking up trash as he walked his dog along the
road! Come to think about it we rarely see trash along
the roads in our neighborhood and now we know at least
part of the reason why.
Observing this neighbor's good deed reminds us of the many ways we are blessed in our neighborhood by having good neighbors, even those we've never met. Some
other examples:
We hope
you all have good neighbors and that you are a good
neighbor. One thing we all have in common is
that we all live in a neighborhood and have
neighbors. (I suppose if you are on a remote island
you can contest this.)
The
neighborhoods we live in vary greatly. Many live in
cities, many live in suburbs and small towns and there
are those, like us, who live out in the country. But
we all live in a neighborhood of some type. Even a
person living way out in the country will speak about
his nearest neighbor even though they may be a mile
away.
"Neighbor" is used 92 times in a standard Bible translation (NASV). The daily Proverb states, "Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away" (Proverbs 27:10). Well, we each have brothers (and sisters) who are far away so when it comes to frequent interactions this proverb is our experience. Or as Mister Rogers often sang on "Mister Rogers Neighborhood", "Who are the people in your neighborhood, the people that you meet each day."
Or as an adaptation to the longstanding State
Farm jingle states, Like a good neighbor, let us
be there.
The
dictionary defines neighbor as "one
living or located near another". In considering social
groupings it seems we often consider our municipality
such as a town or city as the smallest unit but it
really is our neighborhood, which may be harder to
define in regard to distinct boundaries.
But
the Bible understanding of neighbor has no boundaries.
The Bible definition of neighbor was answered when
Christ taught one of His most famous parables, "The
Good Samaritan" (Luke 10:25-37) which
is prompted by this encounter between the Lord and "an
expert in the law".
"On one occasion an expert in the law
stood up to test Jesus. 'Teacher,' he asked, 'what
must I do to inherit eternal life?' 'What is
written in the Law?' he replied. 'How do you read
it?' He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all
your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love
your neighbor as yourself.’ 'You have answered
correctly,' Jesus replied. 'Do this and you will
live.' But he wanted to justify himself, so he
asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'
(Luke 25-29).
Essentially
the parable teaches us that our neighbors are those we
encounter in life who have a need. The parable ends
with a question from Jesus, "'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 10:36,37).
All over
the world we want people to seek to be good neighbors
and in doing so that would greatly contribute to
peaceful towns and cities and states and nations and
ultimately the world! Apart from our family it begins
in our neighborhood. What kind of neighbor are you?
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we thank You for those You
providentially place in our neighborhood, many
of them becoming friends for life. So many times
when we are in need of help they are the first
ones to respond by lending a helping hand,
loaning a tool or other needed item to help us
out, or watching over our house and property as
we travel. May we be a blessing to our neighbors
as we build friendships and model a life that
glorifies You so that we influence those who
don't follow You to come to Christ. In Jesus'
name we pray. Amen.
To receive the
"Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday
through email see this
page to subscribe to our email list. You can also
subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or
through a Wordpress email subscription.
(See the email subscription on the right side
after opening this page)
Permissions:
Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and
distribute any material on Daily Encouragement
Net, in part or in whole, in any format,
provided that you do not alter the wording in
any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of
reproduction. It is our desire to spread this
material, not protect or restrict it. We do
request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription
information intact.
We want to thank all who financially
support our ministry. We
realize there are many fine ministries and
causes requesting support but if the Lord
would lead you we surely need and appreciate
the financial support from our readers and
listeners. Our
ministry labor is comprised of approximately
half our time to Daily Encouragement and the
other half to our chaplaincy ministry to
companies for which we receive compensation.
Each of these ministries essentially is the
same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for
each of us. Our goal for many years is that
each would provide half of our ministry
expenses and income.
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information. To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376 Please Note: We
also provide this easy option due to the
convenience, for international supporters,
and for those who may not be concerned
regarding receiving an official tax
deductible receipt. Click here to
send an offering using PayPal. This
will open to a page that states "Brooksyne
Weber".
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2021 Stephen C. & Brooksyne
Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA |