It’s not my job! And you might be right. After all the Bible makes it clear that the gifts and callings from God are not “one size fits all.” But before you get too cozy in the land of indifference and apathy, may I remind you that certain things are non-negotiable for each and every one of us.
Jesus, when asked by a Pharisee with a law degree what commandment in the Law was the greatest, “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is [the] first and great commandment. 39 And [the] second [is] like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” [Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV] These two laws apply to everyone.
In Luke 10:25-28, the tables are turned a bit. Here the Pharisee, in answering a question from Jesus cites these two commandments. Although he had no problem with the first commandment (note: loving God is an inexhaustible subject), he got stuck on the second; resulting in him asking, “Who is my neighbor?” This resulted in Jesus sharing one of His most memorable parables: The Parable of the Good Samaritan. While lengthy sermons have been preached on this parable, may I point out a few salient facts.
- You cannot love God without loving people (1 John 3:11-18). Many times “Christians” will bypass people because they profess to be doing something for God. Jesus addressed this in Mark 7:9-13.
- The characters in the parable are a man, robbers, a priest, a Levite, a Samaritan, and an innkeeper.
- You and I, at any given time, could be any one of these six characters, and any one of the six could be our neighbor.
“A man (or woman.” You and I are always human. Notice I didn’t say “just human.” Every human being was, is, and will be an image-bearer of God (Genesis 5:1-2). This is the core reason why mankind fits the description of “neighbor.” Ethnicity, race, color, social or economic status – none of them have anything to do with it. If the parable does indicate a qualifier for neighbor, it would be a man “in need.”
“Robber.” I pray that none of us are this by practice, yet it is possible. We may rob God of tithes and offerings. We may rob Him of honor and glory. Or we may cheat on our taxes. We may take supplies from our jobs and use them personally. The cashier may make an error in our favor, and we don’t point it out. We may rob our spouses of affection. We may rob our children of attention. And the list goes on. So don’t necessarily exclude a robber from being a neighbor. And robbers often create people “in need.”
“Priest/Levite.” Without differentiating here, let’s just call them religious people. Religious people always have religious duties, and they often keep religious people from seeing or responding to the needs of neighbor. This in turn makes them neighbors because they are definitely people with needs. We must be wary of religious traditions making the Word of God of no effect in our lives (Mark 7:6-9).
“Innkeeper.” In the parable, the innkeeper provided a valuable service. Yes, he was paid for it, but his guest was certainly not a poster boy for his next ad campaign. Bad publicity could have resulted from someone in his guest’s condition. Maybe the robbers would return and finish the job. Maybe the two silver coins he was paid would not cover all the expenses. Would the benefactor ever return and make good his promise? The innkeeper treated both the Samaritan and the robbery victim as neighbors, and you can imagine several ways in which he also qualified as a neighbor.
“The Samaritan.” He is really the star of the parable, and the pity (followed by action) he took on the beaten man illustrates in vivid terms what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.” He loved, not just with words, but with deeds. His actions cost him both time and money. He interceded between the one in need and the one who could best satisfy the need. He saw the destitute man as his neighbor, and he acted as a neighbor.
And if that’s not enough to chew (meditate) on, Jesus told another parable in Matthew 25 about the sheep and the goats. He spoke of neighbors here as being “the least of these.” May I close here with an admonition to the church to consider pre-born babies in their mother’s wombs as being “the least of these”? And circling around to the beginning of this essay, I admit that to do so doesn’t look the same with everybody. The need is great, and it is complex. Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something. It’s our job.
Les Young is an ordained minister of the Gospel with a rich and varied background, ranging from firefighter/EMT to CEO of a large insurance agency; from commander of a Combat Engineer Company to pastor of a local church. He is married to his best friend Barbara, and they have three children and six grandchildren. Les has a masters from Duke University, a Doctorate in Biblical Studies from Master’s International, and a PhD from Covenant bible College & Seminary. He has been involved in the Pro-life movement for three decades, working with Life Chains, Operation Save America, and 40 Days for Life. He is the founder of the Facebook Group “Defund Planned Parenthood” and is the initiator of the 3.1.10 initiative. He has a passion to see personhood rights given to the unborn from the moment of conception.
