Isn't Everyone My Neighbor?

 


When I teach about being an engaged neighbor, nothing I say generates more pushback than when I talk about connecting with the people behind the eight closets' front doors to my own.

You know, the eight neighbors that adjoin your property.

Why does this idea generate so much negative feedback? One is because we are always looking for a loophole. But there are other reasons.

One of the earliest stories to ask, “Who is my neighbor?” is found in the Bible's book of Luke. In that story, an attorney was looking for a loophole! That was 2000 years ago. 

Most of us, me included, still fall into this trap. We have tried to define the word “neighbor” so that it begins to lose some of its power. 

We end up thinking to ourselves, "Wow, that's incredible. Everyone is my neighbor, and I'm doing a lot of good stuff, so I'm just neighboring all the time. Look at me. I’m a wonderful person."

Oddly enough, the other thing we do is pick and choose neighbors. We pick the people who look like us, act like us, think like us, and vote like us. Or we pick the people we can easily keep at arm's length and do a favor for once in a while without ever really having a relationship.

The problem is that when we aim for everything, we hit nothing. 

So when we insist we are neighbors with everybody, we end up being neighbors with nobody. 

It is easy to become numb to the idea of loving your neighbor. If we are not careful, we can turn the idea into a catchy saying or bummer sticker that we quote but do not live out.

Start with eight families or residents that adjoin your property. You are likely to find various people, backgrounds and ideas. Invest your time in building relationships with those neighbors.

You can always do more than those close eight (expand into the community), but you should never do less by just claiming nameless people as your "neighbors."


MORE INFORMATION

Does this article make you interested in taking the Engaged Neighbor pledge? Five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge online at http://engagedneighbor.com.

Contact the blog author, David L. Burton at dburton541@yahoo.com.

Comments

  1. Suzanne Olszewski ChisumFebruary 14, 2024 at 2:42 PM

    When you put a name to a person or know who they are, they move away from being a nameless stranger to someone that you know and care about.

    ReplyDelete

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