LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF

When Jesus was asked by the rich young man what he must do to get eternal life, Matthew 19:12-22, Jesus listed the commandments including loving your neighbor as yourself. Certainly this was a personal challenge for personal salvation. But what about the salvation of the church- any congregation? What if a congregation was challenged to love its neighbors as itself in order to receive eternal life? Then the church must ask, “Who are the neighbors of the church?” People may prefer to keep the question local. But when the needs from around the world vividly and repeatedly break through on our big TV screens, there is a whole new dimension to neighborhood compared to when Jesus was on earth. Is not the neighbor anyone whom you see in desperate need? Do not the orphans and all people around the world who have never had a chance to hear the Gospel become our neighbors? The neighbor becomes all people in our vision who have the need to experience the whole Gospel.

But back to the church faced with the global neighbor. What concern is the church challenged to have if it loves the ‘neighbor as itself’. Literally it would mean that the church has an equal responsibility to care for the ‘neighbor’ as for itself. Is it too blatant to suggest that it might mean to share in equal measure in its prayer, financial, and personnel resources with the world neighbor? If so it would spend a lot of time and focus thinking about the needy neighbors around the world, just as it does on its local internal needs. One could ask how much the church is really giving to God and the “neighbor” when most of the financial and other resources are simply spent on taking care of its own needs. We pay for a comfortable environment so we can worship and fellowship with each others. The leadership is our servant and we pay them for their services- services to us. Is that really giving an offering to God when it is for our own benefit? Are we not really loving ourselves much more than the neighbor as the church is organized and using its resources?

A congregation would be faced immediately on how it could help the global neighbor as much as itself. The answer is simpler on paper than in logistics: either cut local expenses or double giving through the church, or a combination of both. Certainly they would need to meet the needs of the neighbors among themselves as well as those locally around the congregation. They could not be ignored locals in favor for the neighbor abroad although the church would need to recognize the likely greater desperation around the world.

Remember, this was part of Jesus’ answer to the question on how to get eternal life. He spelled out the option “if you want to be perfect”, of selling and giving to the poor [neighbor]. Is it too much to suggest that the church’s choice of hoarding resources likely leads to Spiritual discontent and a “sadness” like it did for the young man? Do we prefer wealth and spiritual “sadness” rather than the “perfection” of real happiness in loving the neighbor as we love ourselves? Where does it fit in that God loves a cheerful [hilarious] giver? That sure is a long way from the uneasy church, or perhaps the church does not know how happy it could be if they would follow Jesus’ radical challenge to love the global neighbor like itself. That would really be following Christ!

Sept. 18, 2009