YOUR NEIGHBOUR MAY NOT LIVE NEXT DOOR!

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1 Weekly Bible Study Series, Vol. 15, No. 14: 26 October 2014 Imonitie Christopher Imoisili, imoisilic@hotmail.com For past issues and more, visit our Web Site: YOUR NEIGHBOUR MAY NOT LIVE NEXT DOOR! Today s Text: Eph. 4: 25-32; Lk 10: Extracts: Therefore, putting away lying, Let each of you speak truth with his neighbour, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and sin not : do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you [Eph. 4: 25-32]. [Jesus asked the lawyer], So which of these three [the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan] do you think was neighbour to him who fell among the thieves? And he said, He who showed mercy on him. Then Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise [Lk 10: 36-37] According to the US National Safety Council, vehicle crashes are the No. 1 cause of death for children, aged The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adds that the use of car seats can reduce the risk of death by 71% for infants under one year old and by 54% for children under 4 years of age. Parents are advised to use a booster seat for children, 4-8, to reduce the risk of serious injury. On Friday, 3 October 2014, Ben Hall, a ticket officer with the Emmett Township Dept. of Public Safety in Michigan, stopped a vehicle with a young child without a car seat. Alexis DeLorenzo and her 5-year-old daughter were being driven by a friend. She told the cop that she had recently fallen on hard times. Her car had been repossessed with her daughter s booster seat inside and she could not afford to buy another one. She was living from paycheck to paycheck and borrowing money from friends to survive. Instead of issuing her a ticket, Officer Hall took DeLorenzo to the nearest Walmart store and bought her a booster seat for her daughter. DeLorenzo told reporters later that that act had changed her life and that she and her daughter were never going to forget it. For Officer Hall, it felt natural to go beyond the call of duty and to make a difference in people s lives. Ben Hall had never met the lady before the ticketing episode but he turned out to be her neighbour- the one who met her immediate need. How about you? In this week s Bible text, Paul has reinforced Jesus Parable of the Good Samaritan to demonstrate that your neighbour may not be that person who lives next door to you or even in your neighbourhood. So, who is your neighbour? How should you treat your neighbour if you want to please God? Let us find out from this week s interesting study. 1 Story is based on Jacob Axelrad, Instead of writing ticket, Michigan cop buys booster seat for girl, The Christian Science Monitor, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014; Weekly Bible Study Series, Vol. 15, 2014 I.C. Imoisili

2 2 1. Background: Who is your neighbour? A contentious lawyer that felt deflated by the Lord s response to his question on what to do to inherit eternal life asked Jesus, And who is my neighbour? [Lk 10: 25-29]. The Lord used the famous Parable of the Good Samaritan to answer the lawyer s question. To refresh our memory, let us recount much of that story as follows: a) Somebody needed help A certain man who was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho fell among thieves who robbed him of his possessions, wounded him and left him half dead [v. 30]. Left there and bleeding badly, that man could soon die. Therefore, he needed urgent help. Who was going to play that dying man s neighbour? We all need help. It could be material (financial, medical, etc) or emotional (sound advice, friendship, etc) or spiritual (demonic oppression, unforgiving spirit, etc). Whatever it is, we cannot deal with it on our own. We need others to help us. b) Ethnic and religious affinity could not help him We are told that a priest and a Levite passed by but rendered the wounded man no help [vv ]. Were they uncaring or just wicked not to help? No! Under the Law of Moses, there were God-given regulations for the conduct of priests and Levites. For the priests, God commanded Moses to tell them, None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, except for his relatives who are nearest to him being a chief man among his people to profane himself [Lev. 21: 1-4]. The LORD s anointing oil had been poured on the priest s head and he should not go near any dead body or defile himself even for his father or mother [vv ]. The work of the Levites, from the age of 25 to 50, was to service the tabernacle of meeting and nothing else [Num. 8: 5-26]. Therefore, it was not the duty of Levites to bury the dead or look after the injured. Even though the wounded man was a Jew, and thus had ethnic and religious affinity with the priest and the Levite, they could not help him on account of their religious duties! In our own case, maybe we are too busy or it is not our responsibility. Maybe we do not just care- as long as he is not family or familiar person. Even for family members or fellow church members, we may not be forthcoming with help. We may sympathise but never empathise with that wounded man, woman or child lying there along our route to self-centred pursuits. c) It took a hated total stranger to help him! 2

3 3 A Samaritan who happened to pass that way saw the injured man, showed compassion on him, administered first-aid [ bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine ], put him on his own limousine [ own animal ] and rushed him to an emergency clinic [ an inn ] where he stayed for a while to care for him. The following day, he gave some money to the innkeeper as a deposit, pending his return from his journey to foot the whole bill [vv ]. Who were the Samaritans? Following the capture of Israel by the king of Assyria, the Jews were sent into exile in Babylon. The Assyrian king then sowed foreigners, non-jews, mostly scoundrels, to occupy Samaria and other Jewish cities. Even though they later became familiar with Jewish religious practices, they continued with their former pagan rituals. They did not fear the God of the Jews. They became known as Samaritans, that is, residents of Samaria [2 Kgs 17: 24-41]. When the Jews ultimately returned from exile, they hated the Samaritans and chose to have no dealings with them [Jn 4: 9]. It took a hated total stranger to show love and compassion to the wounded Jew. He was not his next-door neighbour. He had never met him before. They did not share any common valuescolour of skin, creed or profession. Yet, he turned out to be his neighbour. From the foregoing, it is clear that your neighbour, from God s perspective, is not necessarily a family member, a person who lives next door to you in your neighbourhood, a member of your church or profession or someone from your tribe or race. It is somebody to whom you show love and compassion in his/her hour of need. Who is your neighbour? Using Paul s talking points in his letter to the Ephesians, let us test if you are already doing likewise. 2. Can you do likewise? To what extent are we playing neighbours to those around us; people that we may or may not know; people to whom God expects us to play neighbour? We are doing so if we can relate to other people as follows: a) Speak truth with your neighbour Paul wrote, Therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour, for we are members of one another [Eph. 4:25]. To speak the truth is to tell it like it is. Truth, they say, is bitter and most of us try to avoid speaking truth to others, especially people in authority. 2 The word of God says, He who says to the wicked, You are righteous, him the people will curse; nations will abhor him. But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them 2 Can you speak truth to authority? Weekly Bible Study Series, Vol.13 No. 21, 1 July 2012; 3

4 4 [Prov. 24: 24-25]. Therefore, those who speak truth to others are playing good neighbours to them. Take the example of Paul when he saw the leading apostle, Peter, playing the hypocrite among the Gentiles in the church at Antioch. Before some disciples of Jewish descent joined Peter there from James in Jerusalem, he had eaten with the Gentiles. As soon as they came, however, Peter separated himself. Paul challenged Peter and his team before them all because they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel [Gal. 2: 11-14]. Speaking about Paul later, Peter referred to him as our beloved brother Paul and acknowledged the wisdom given to him [2 Pet. 3; 15]. He had played a good neighbour to Peter. Go and do likewise! The problem may not be telling others the truth but how to do so for effect. In that case, pray about it and let the Holy Spirit guide your steps. For example, how was the prophet Nathan going to tell King David about his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, Uriah s wife? He used a projective technique- a parable in the third person that David himself passed judgment on. Then, the prophet turned to the king and said, You are the man! [2 Sam. 12: 1-7]. Ultimately, most people do appreciate to be told the truth even when their original reaction may be hostile. b) Be angry but sin not Paul wrote, Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil [Eph. 4; 26]. Some of us cannot control their anger. At the slightest provocation, they blow the fuse, so to speak, when others, especially their subordinates, have offended or tried to point out errors to them. You can imagine the offending party facing an angry person. In place of sympathy and understanding, they can face shame and intimidation. They are likely to make more mistakes because they are at a loss how to assuage the feelings of the offended party. An angry person is bound to make worse mistakes that could backfire on him/her. For example, God told Moses to speak to the rock (the second time). By the time he came to the people and saw the wicked things they were doing, he became so angry that he struck the rock (even twice!) instead of speaking to it. For that, God punished him by not allowing him to enter the Promised Land [Num. 20: 7-13]. We ought to learn from God Himself who is slow to anger over our sins against Him on a daily basis. Instead, He remains gracious, great in mercy and full of compassion [Ps. 145: 8]. If you find that your anger could make you say or do something to others that you will live to regret, then learn to contain it by saying or doing nothing! 4

5 5 c) Provide for the needy from legitimate means Paul wrote, Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need [Eph. 4: 28]. In other words, any help that you give to the needy must come from legitimate and holy means if you want God to bless you for it. The word of God says, He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given [Prov. 19: 17]. That can only be if what is given is holy or legitimate. Unfortunately, a good number of givers are thieves, Robin Hoods or Ali Babas, who corruptly enrich themselves to spread among the needy for their own personal gains. Some people who may even have legitimate means give simply to enslave others for their own selfish ends. It can happen within a family, office or church. The best attitude is to give, not because you can but because you care. 3 d) Speak only to edify and eschew bitterness Paul wrote, Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to hearers [Eph. 4: 29]. That stranger on the table next to yours in the restaurant could be listening to what you are saying to your guest. Are you imparting grace or corrupt words to him/her? When you speak to your erring children or those under your charge, do you speak curses or words that edify? They are all your neighbours! See what difference Jesus made in the life of that woman caught in adultery. Everybody else wanted to stone her to death but for the Lord s saving intervention. After everyone had left and He was alone with her, Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more [Jn 8: 1-11]. Tradition (as captured in films about Jesus) has it that that woman became one of the Lord s most ardent followers for the rest of her life. She had found her good neighbour! When the young man, Elihu, rebuked Job and his friends for speaking rashly about God, he said, Surely God will not listen to empty talk, nor will the Almighty regard it. Therefore, they should stop opening their mouths in vain and multiplying words without knowledge [Job 35:13-16]. Clearly, your neighbour in need may be more soothed by your active listening than by your judgmental chattering! 3 Give because you care not because you can! Weekly Bible Study Series, Vol. 15 No. 2: 2 Feb. 2014; 15/GivebecauseyoucarenotbecauseyoucanVol15No22Feb2014.pdf 5

6 6 e) Learn to forgive Finally, Paul enjoined the Ephesians to forgive one another even as God in Christ forgave you [Eph. 4; 32]. To forgive means not to play the accuser, prosecutor, judge and jury on a matter where you are the offended party! When we catch a thief, we hand him/her over to the Police. So, God expects us to hand over those who have offended us to Him because vengeance is His and He will repay. If you must punish your enemies, God expects you to feed them when they are hungry, give drink to them if thirsty, and overcome any hurt against you from them with good [Prov. 25: 21-22; Matt. 5: 44; Rom. 12: 17-21]. Do not rejoice when your enemies fall or stumble; otherwise God will see it and turn away His wrath from them [Prov. 24: 17-18]. You are surrounded by neighbours, many of whom you could be meeting for the first and only time. You may never know what role or purpose God has brought them to play in your life or on your road to salvation. If you blow that slight chance, you may not have a second chance. Speak truth to them to edify, not to destroy or discourage; be angry with them but forgive their sins/offences against you; help them with their needs as the Lord provides you or endows you with. That way, God will be pleased with you and bless you. That is the key message of this week s study. 3. Conclusion: Jesus is your closest neighbour! On the road from maternity to eternity, Satan and his robbery gang waylaid you, robbed you of your righteousness and left you bleeding and half-dead. Law came by Moses but it could not deliver you. The prophets came but they all pointed to a Messiah in the future instead of dealing with your present. Who then is that neighbour that can safely take you from your point of injury to your mansion in heaven? His name is Jesus! He came in a lonely state, born in a manger. He went to the cross to die for your sins, that you can regain the righteousness that Satan had stolen from you in the Garden of Eden. Now, you are born-again! Can you ask for a better neighbour than that in your hour of need? He has washed you clean with His blood and left you in the care of His church, with all the bills paid in advance! He has gone to prepare a place for you in His Father s house in heaven. He will soon come back to take you there so that where He is, there you will also be [Jn 14: 1-3]. Indeed, Jesus is your closest neighbour, a friend who sticks closer than a brother [Prov. 18: 24]. 6