Post by Tomvicss (@Asipa)

LORD, KEEP REMINDING ME OF WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR

TEXT
Proverbs 3:27-32
[27]Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
    when it is in your power to act.
[28]Do not say to your neighbor,
    “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—
    when you already have it with you.
[29]Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
    who lives trustfully near you.
[30]Do not accuse anyone for no reason—
    when they have done you no harm.
[31]Do not envy the violent
    or choose any of their ways.
[32]For the Lord detests the perverse
    but takes the upright into his confidence.

MESSAGE Serving God means serving one's neighbor. This proverb illustrates some of the ways we show that love of neighbor. We live in a world where having good neighbors helps keep us and our households safe. If a fire breaks out or a thief tries to break in, it is our neighbors that we depend on as they depend on us for help. When I was a child, it was common for a neighbor to borrow a cup of milk or a couple of eggs. I am fortunate to still have a neighbor I can go to when I need something and she can do the same to me. However, I am well aware that there are areas where people don't know their neighbors and sometimes feel threatened by them. I have lived most of my life in neighborhoods that were of mixed races and mixed religions. There were people who were well educated and people who worked in factories or on their own as electricians or construction workers. Living in this diversity helps us realize how much we are all alike. In one place where I lived, one of the home owners intensely disliked his next door neighbor. If there was anything he could do to upset him, including calling the police when he thought he was trespassing, he did it. This caused a lot of problems within the neighborhood. We had a block party every year before Christmas, but this feud prevented some of the neighbors from attending. If we love our neighbor as ourselves, we will live in peace and harmony with each other. If we strive against one another, we will have chaos. Our choice!

PRAYER Loving God, you want us to live in
peace and
you show us
us the way.
May we pay attention so as to live
in the peace of Christ. Amen.

Frances Taylor.

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