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Who is my neighbor?
Author: TriSec
Date: 09/11/2010 11:15:22
Good Morning.
So, it's burn a Quran day. Given the confusion over the past 48 hours, it's unclear if the event is going to happen or not today. I started writing a blog about this on Tuesday night, but seeing that we've talked about this every day this week, I'll move on to something else. Nevertheless, if you want to see my original idea, it's posted here.
Instead, let's take a minute to consider what it means to live on this Earth with our fellow man. Unless we're a dictator or a millionaire, most of us live cheek by jowl in a neighborhood with dozens of other families. Sometimes we get along with them...sometimes we don't. It would be easy to build a big fence and ignore everyone. After all, the old adage says "good fences make good neighbors".
But in a larger sense, what does it mean to live with our fellow man on this earth. In short, can we "love thy neighbor"?
How to treat our fellow man is the subject of many verses in a number of religious texts. While we have codified in law how we should behave around each other in modern society, there's a more basic behavior that we should be aware of.
We'll start with Surah 4:32 from the Quran:
Perhaps the most famous parable about how to treat our neighbors comes from Luke 10:25-37 -
So, as we go about our business today...perhaps nervously looking at the sky, let us remember who is our neighbor. It's the person next door...the person on the opposite coast, and yes...the person in the desert with a turban.
We're all on this earth together. We can at least tolerate each other and not destroy that which is different from us, or we can remember what happened 9 years ago and wonder if the world will tear itself apart if we keep going the way we're headed.
So, it's burn a Quran day. Given the confusion over the past 48 hours, it's unclear if the event is going to happen or not today. I started writing a blog about this on Tuesday night, but seeing that we've talked about this every day this week, I'll move on to something else. Nevertheless, if you want to see my original idea, it's posted here.
Instead, let's take a minute to consider what it means to live on this Earth with our fellow man. Unless we're a dictator or a millionaire, most of us live cheek by jowl in a neighborhood with dozens of other families. Sometimes we get along with them...sometimes we don't. It would be easy to build a big fence and ignore everyone. After all, the old adage says "good fences make good neighbors".
But in a larger sense, what does it mean to live with our fellow man on this earth. In short, can we "love thy neighbor"?
How to treat our fellow man is the subject of many verses in a number of religious texts. While we have codified in law how we should behave around each other in modern society, there's a more basic behavior that we should be aware of.
We'll start with Surah 4:32 from the Quran:
Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful.
Perhaps the most famous parable about how to treat our neighbors comes from Luke 10:25-37 -
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
So, as we go about our business today...perhaps nervously looking at the sky, let us remember who is our neighbor. It's the person next door...the person on the opposite coast, and yes...the person in the desert with a turban.
We're all on this earth together. We can at least tolerate each other and not destroy that which is different from us, or we can remember what happened 9 years ago and wonder if the world will tear itself apart if we keep going the way we're headed.
