Who is My Neighbor?

"Every person in the world is your neighbor," someone answers. Yet this enlarged vision of your responsibility presents a new conflict. Being preoccupied with needs in distant places, you may fail to see the need next door. Doing big tasks for God may crowd out time for the little kindnesses to your fellow man. You may become so bowed down with concern for the wide world that you become a most unpleasant person at home.

Instead of closing your eyes to the world's problems when they almost overwhelm you, open your eyes wide to the bigness of God's plan. He does not expect to do all of His work within the span of your threescore years and ten, neither does He expect your little person to encompass the globe. "His state is kingly," wrote the blind poet who was tempted to fret about his own apparent uselessness. "Thousands at His bidding speed and post o'er land and ocean without rest."

Your responsibility, then, is not to try to do all of the world's work, but to discover which tasks are yours to do, and to do them with all your powers. You may help other causes with prayer, gifts, and good will; but concentrate your energy on your specific service. In order to be delivered from the busyiness of trying to do the work for which some other Christian is responsible, consult God before you agree to help in even the most worthy efforts. Lest in trying to love everybody else's neighbor, you neglect your own, you must continue to pray, "Lord, who is my neighbor?"

Luke 10:29 

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From Breaking Bread Together edited by Elaine Rich. Copyright 1958 by Herald Press, Scottdale, PA 15683. All rights reserved. Used by permission. This work may not be copied or distributed in any manner without the permission of Herald Press.

Photo by Christoph Ba.