Who is our Neighbor?

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Scripture Text:  1 Timothy 6:1-2

Luke 10:29

 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

(ESV)

Finding contentment in a divisive world attacking Christian values seems like an elusive goal.  However, the Apostle Paul reminds us that contentment in godliness is the greatest contentment one can experience.  While imprisoned in a Roman jail for his faith, the Apostle Paul spoke of being content in all any situation (Philippians 4:11).  The challenge facing all professing Jesus as Savior is learning how to be content in a world attacking their faith.  Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:3-10 indicate that contentment comes from a foundation of Biblical truth. 

However, before exploring 1 Timothy 6:3-10, we must conclude the theme of 1 Timothy 5 providing instruction on how to serve Christ in the community.  The term bondservant is foreign in our modern culture with the employee being the closest thing to a bondservant.  However, even when we replace bondservant with employee, many may have issues with the call in 1 Timothy 6:1 to treat their employer with honor.  This is especially true if one works for an ungodly boss.  When asked about which commandments in the law were the greatest, Jesus taught that loving our neighbors was second only to loving God (Matthew 22:36-40).  The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) not only stresses the importance of extending God’s love through acts of charity but also defines who our neighbors are. 

Divisiveness is nothing new in culture and has always been the purpose of the enemy beginning in the Garden where the serpent separated humanity from God (Genesis 3).  In response to the lawyer of Matthew 22:36-40, Luke records his asking Jesus who his neighbor is (Luke 10:29).  In response, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan where a despised Samaritan extends God’s love to an injured man going from Jerusalem the Jericho.  While scripture does not identify the man as Jewish, the fact he is going from Jerusalem leads to the presumption he was most likely Jewish (Luke 10:30). 

The racial divide between the Samaritans and Jews was vile not unlike racial divides present in modern society.  While Jews and Samaritans share a common biological heritage, they have theological division going back to the splitting of Israel after Solomon’s death (1 Kings 12).  This led to the declaration of the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel as Samaria (1 Kings 16:24) with those living in that region of Israel referred to as Samaritans.  So divisive was this rebellion that in Jesus’ time Jews would not even walk through the region of Samaria with the Jews not considering Samaritans their neighbors.  Jesus teaching to this Jewish lawyer about a Samaritan showing charity to a possibly Jewish man is teaching that even the reviled Samaritans are their neighbors. 

Just as Jesus telling a Jewish lawyer that a Samaritan is his neighbor, our employers are not just our boss, but someone we must consider our neighbor.  While Paul’s teaching to Timothy concerns respect for a boss who is a believer, Paul also urged Timothy to pray for those in authority over him in 1 Timothy 2:1-4.  Whether a believer or non-believer, our boss is one in authority over us and someone we are to biblically honor, pray for, and consider our neighbor.  Having worked for both believing and non-believing bosses, I can attest to how this attitude results in a calm and peaceful spirit while working.  With this attitude, it is possible to achieve Godly contentment even in a negative employment situation. 

However, this does not mean an employee must surrender to performing illegal or immoral tasks under their boss’s direction for this is ungodly and does not lead to Godly contentment.  My experience with working for a non-believing boss, however, usually does not involve the boss asking to do something illegal or immoral for even a non-believing boss does not want to incur legal problems.  Instead, non-believing bosses who find out someone is a believer may engage in soft persecution in an effort to get them to become angry or act worldly instead of living in a Godly manner while at work.  We honor such an ungodly boss by praying for them and doing our Job as if we were working for the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24).  Honoring a Godly boss is a way of respecting a fellow brother or sister in the Lord who benefits from having a believing employee serving them as if they were serving the Lord. 

Jesus also took the idea of loving our neighbors to the point of also loving our enemies and those persecuting us for our faith (Matthew 5:43-48).  Jesus died for sinners and we are all sinners (Romans 3:23).  God saves us but leaves us in this world to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).  As good ambassadors, Christians have a calling to live for Christ in what they say and do which includes loving our neighbors including those that may persecute us.