Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—too much of you and your neighbor will hate you. ~Proverbs 25:17
Loudly bless your neighbor early in the morning, and it will be taken as a curse. ~Proverbs 27:14
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. ~Psalm 91:14
For, this is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. ~Psalm 118:24
I am a morning person! I can face the morning with enthusiasm almost every day. I often wake up before the alarm and don’t complain about it. I would have no problem singing the song: “This Is the Day,” in full voice in the morning. But I don’t think that Kathy would join me. She is my nearest “neighbor” and we just read that warning against loudly blessing your neighbor early in the morning. Let’s just say I’ve learned that one by experience.
Kathy is not a morning person. In fact, I bring her a first cup of coffee, while she’s still waking up, just to help her along. She does get there eventually, but it takes time, all the way to the bottom of the cup. There is no right or wrong here, but wisdom helps us to be sensitive to the fact that not everyone is as energetic as I am, as quickly anyway.
Living in a house with someone who is committed to me is one thing, but I am also a part of a neighborhood, and larger community. In fact, as Spring comes, Kathy and I are looking forward to getting to know our neighbors better. We have already had a few conversations, such as the guys across the street who have offered to help me shovel and have also made sure that it’s okay with us if they cut across our property to Ash’s Coffee Cup. By the way, It’s fine with us. Lou, next door, has proven to be a great neighbor. I’ve asked him about his garbage service among other things. And he cleared the snow in front of my mailbox yesterday with his snowblower!
There’s the lady across the street who doesn’t mind me cutting through her yard, coffee cup in hand, when I’m late for men’s breakfast. Down the street there’s Russell Logston, the pastor of the United Methodist Church and St. John’s. There’s having a conversation with the owner of Ash’s itself if we ever follow through on our hope to put up a fence so that we can get a dog. Their snow gets plowed into piles that come into our yard. We’re already talking about an extra gate so that our neighbors can keep cutting through.
Paul admonishes us to, “live at peace with all men.” To do this requires wisdom. It’s not enough to just do what we want because it is our home and property. How we live is seen by others and stands as a witness to our character thus reflects on whether they see Christ in us.
In her book, “The Gospel Comes with A House Key,” Rosaria Butterfield, encourages us to use our homes as opportunities to serve our neighborhood for Christ. She encourages us to not just see our homes as a retreat, but to use it as an extension of our faith. How we do this will look different depending on who we are, but one thing is certain, we are not called to be offensive and argumentative. Our home needs to be a place that Jesus can proudly say, “I live here!”
Just a note in case you wonder why I used verses from Proverbs 25 & 27 when it’s still only January! It has to do with the thematic arrangement mentioned at the beginning, and that yesterday I said we’d be talking for the next few days about how to live with our neighbors.
Prayer: Thank You Lord for making every day new for each of us whether we’re immediately enthusiastic about it or take some time to rev up. Thank You for Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. For, each day is a day the Lord has made. It is good for us rejoice and be glad in it. And it gives us something to share with our neighbors, just maybe not first thing in the morning. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: “Jesu, Jesu” This one has the words.
"Jesu, Jesu" This one is REALLY Good!
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