Love Thy Neighbor: Help An Enemy Rise & Climb

I’ve had some thoughts circulating around for a while about this concept of loving your neighbor. It became very popular after a controversial year of stay at home, masking debates, and ultimately the vaccine.

I’ve heard in several different ways more or less said like this: ‘love you neighbor get the damn vaccine or just wear a mask’. I’ve heard ‘if you loved your neighbor you would do ________’.

Before I back up I want to say that even before Co-vid I was vaccine hesitant. I grew up with a vaccine hesitant mother but due to the military got ALL of them, even Anthrax, throughout my years in the military. It was one thing for me to choose that at 18+ years old but when it came to my kids I really did a lot of research. What prompted me to do the research was hearing about my friend’s son who had severe allergies to the point where he couldn’t leave the house much.

He received all of the vaccines per his doctors guidance only to find out that half the stuff he was allergic to was in the vaccine. This led me to questioning them and looking into them for myself.

I was one of those that came out on the hesitancy side of research the more I dug. I know this is not the case for everyone. That is ok! While I do believe that some of the communicable diseases that really plagued us back in the day are serious, I saw other health concerns in our kids and the general population that led me to believe that vaccines may have a dark side to them as well. Ultimately I have chosen for myself and my family to support our immune systems from a more proactive, holistic approach, rather than a vaccine. Let me know if you want to hear more about that!

I am happy to say that so far my kids are very healthy. We haven’t had to go to the Doctor due to even a high fever, ear infection, or unexplainable ailment. So far we’ve been able to support our children’s health without any injections. I know not everyone feels this way and that is OK, but I want to give you a backdrop of where I was at prior to 2019.

So fast forward to current day my stance on this vaccine hasn’t changed. However, my theory has been: ‘I don’t want to lose friendships or be hated on for the way that I feel is best for me and my family so why would I disrespect you for what you feel is best?’ Even though I would be labeled ‘anti-vaxx’ a more proper title: ‘pro medical freedom’ which encourages families to have the right for them to chose.

So my stance was and continues to be that you need to live to your convictions, do your own research, and not do anything because you feel bullied or coerced (on either sides). For you that may mean getting something or for others it may mean not getting something.

So what led me to talking about this? Well I heard my dental hygienist tell me that their Christian friend got their booster and said: #lovethyneighbor – the next morning I watched this video of a gentlemen share how he was going off social media because his mental health had gotten so bad from being attacked from BOTH sides. You see he got the vaccine and had an injury and decided to share his story. He has been attacked, told he was making it up, and shamed for what he has done. That is NOT OK, so I want to talk about what loving thy neighbor actually means, because it is being used out of context, even by Christians.

So let’s unpack how and why that is my stance. Don’t take my word for it, let’s study what God actually had to say about it, because HIS truth is always better than anyone’s opinion!

Guess what…it’s a story!

Let’s read about it in Luke 10!

The Most Important Commandment

25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”[c]

28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Parable of the Good Samaritan

30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[d] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[e] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

MAN, what a powerful story. Let’s break this down and then see how we can apply it to today.

Let’s look at the key players.

• First off, you had a lawyer or someone verse in Jewish law. They knew all the rules and what the Old Testament Torah books said so he was an ‘expert’ and he was trying to trick Jesus and find a loophole. He was kinda being sassy by saying: ‘but who is my neighbor?’

• Second we have Jesus who IS the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIGHT. He was sent by God to represent what love looked like here on earth.

• Then we go into the story of the Good Samaritan. The person who needs help is actually Jewish. He believed the same things the next few guys believed and probably came from the same hood as these next two guys who walk past him when he gets beaten up and left for dead.

• So then there is the two who you would THINK are ‘his neighbor’. This would have been the other Jews: the Jewish priest and temple assistant. These two noticed him but pretended he didn’t exist and walked to the other side. Probably in a hurry to get back to ‘God’s work’.

• Then there is a Samaritan who was despised by the Jews. There is a LONG history between Jews and Samaritans, but to boil it down Samaritans in the past hated Jews because Jews didn’t accept them back and allow them to worship alongside them, so Samaritans in their jealousy turned really ugly and became hostile towards Jews. So Jews in return hated Samaritans. Keep in mind they both were searching for the Messiah and believed in Yahweh, but still saw things DIFFERENTLY and were not friendly about it.

• To bring this to life a little, let’s look at what this could look like today. I mean it’s very similar to the sentiments of the Vikings and Packers fans or Brewers vs Cubs…ok but taking it a little deeper, it’s similar to the democrat and republican views. I see both sides want to take care of the poor, they just believe in DIFFERENT ways to do that. Bottom line is that back in the day it was NOT OK to hang around Samaritans. Jews and Samaritans did NOT mix. However, in this story, the Samaritan, the sworn enemy of the Jews was the one who actually had compassion on the Jew and so he went out of his way to help even when the fellow Jews did not.

• Hence when Jesus said: ‘So who is your neighbor’, and the lawyer had to admit it was the person who went out of their way to love and help someone out despite their differences.

So let’s stop right there and digest that. How did he go out of his way?

• First he had compassion and then his compassion helped move him to do something. Since he was more than likely going on a long journey he actually had a few things on him that allowed him to be able to help out.

• He soothed his wounds with olive oil, wine, and bandages.

• Took him on his donkey to an inn which gave him shelter and a place to heal.

• Paid for the expenses and told the inn keeper that if his expenses were more than the two silver coins, which is equivalent to two day’s wages but enough for several days’ support, he would cover those expenses next time he came through. I would say he was willing to give anywhere from $300-$500 (or more) dollars in today’s standard. Remember this isn’t $300-$500 and the time spent on someone who was your FRIEND. This was given to an ‘enemy’, someone his parents and peers never spoke highly of.

So then Jesus said: ‘Which of these is a neighbor?’ and the answer from the cocky lawyer was: ‘The Samaritan because of the mercy shown’ and Jesus said: ‘Yes, now go and do the same’.

DANG. Mic drop. AWESOME! Isn’t that what we are craving for is seeing LOVE? So what can we learn from this.

First off, it is not saying: I can only love you if you agree with me. Nope, not even close. In fact, it was the one who DIDN’T agree with the other one that loved like a neighbor. So that means when you hear people say anything like ‘You need to do this in order for there to be love,’ that should send up an immediate red flag.

God’s love is never conditional. Although He may not agree with us or LIKE our actions, His love is never a negotiable.

Which leads me to my point, if we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, we are to have our hearts open to loving and servings someone even if we disagree with them.

Loving your neighbor is all about going out of your way to love and support someone who actually fundamentally disagrees with you or you disagree with them.

In this scenario it means if you are more in the pro-vaxx camp and someone gets Covid you reach out and see how you can take care of them. If you are more in the ‘anti-vaxx’, pro-medical freedom, or anti-mandates camp and you see someone have complications from getting the vaccine you reach out and see how you can help take care of them.

Someways I’ve seen earthly and demonic views spread and taught is this:

• I refuse to treat anyone who hasn’t gotten the vaccine.

• Since that person is raising our healthcare dollars we have the right to refuse care for them.

This thinking is NOT of God and we should run from any of this thinking. It’s not to say that at times you don’t have boundaries and I certainly am not saying to be wreckless around evil people. However, to keep this simple, it is about keeping a pure and open heart towards ALL of God’s people.

Whether it is through prayer or deed, are you willing to love someone in need when peer pressure says otherwise?

Another point I want to expound on here is that the Samaritan didn’t sit around and ask: ‘What did the injuries come from, maybe he deserved it? Maybe he did something wrong so maybe I shouldn’t help him. What will other people think? Is he really that injured? Are his injuries that bad? Someone else will take care of him.’

No, he saw a need and he helped out in real time. He had mercy which means compassion and favor even if undeserved.

I want to draw a deeper parallel that will offend people, but if you hang on long enough I will offend both sides.

The parallels we see is that the ‘expert’ in Jewish law, the Jewish preist, and the temple assistant ALL have the same views here and they are not in alignment with the Samaritan. Applying it to today I see these equivilancies: A CDC or government director is the Jew and law expert. The Jew who gets beat up is a citizen up to date on all their vaccines and believes in science and medicine and is in good standing with all of that. The Doctor is the Jewish priest and the temple assistant is a nurse. Both in which are very pro-vaccine and pro-medicine. They ALL believe the same things like the Jews in this story all belive in the same thing.

Then, the Samaritan is the ‘anti-vaxxer’ who the Jews are sworn to hate and not even go around. The ‘anti-vaxxer’ helping out someone who was injured by the vaccine is what should warrant a #lovethyneighbor shout out.

I am NOT drawing the parallel that ‘anti-vaxxers are right and pro-vaxxers are wrong’. What I am saying is that we can have such a pious and righteous view that starts to shadow compassion and love. No matter what camp you resonate with more, what is your attitude towards those that believe differently than you?

I do want to take some time to bring this up. Remember all of the people who ignored the injuries of the Jewish man? That’s what I see going on today. In both camps I see people’s views blinding them from seeing the risks and benefits of both sides.

People who have had injuries or strange things going on BECAUSE they got a vaccine they believed in will report it and share their story, then people who were advocating for them to get the vaccine are going to the opposite side of the road to ignore them. This is really unfortunate and unloving for those that felt they had allies in the healthcare. However, I also see ‘anti-vaxxers’ have a negative view towards those who once believed what they believed, but then decided to get this one vaccine. Instead of compassionate and patient towards these people they are short and impatient with them.

But no matter what, that is why loving your neighbor doesn’t have anything to do about which side to be on, but everything to do with being at a spot to slow down and lovingly look upon someone who believes differently than you.

So what are some ways you can love your neighbor even if they are not laying on the side of the road?

• Bring a meal or something special over to someone either sick from Covid or sick after the Vaccine.

• PRAY for those to be blessed that you fundamentally disagree with. This is not earthly blessings, but spiritual blessings of knowing the ONE TRUE God and the fruit that comes with that.

• PRAY for someone to be healed whether they have COVID complications or a vaccine injury.

• Talk to God about how it is difficult to love those that feel like they are your enemy. Ask Him for forgiveness and His grace to love those that think differently than you.

• Reach out to someone who thinks differently than you and ASK them why. Pursue an understanding which usually helps you love them better. You will probably find you have a lot more in common than you do differences.

• Donate money or volunteer time to someone with either Covid bills or Vaccine injury bills.

• Other: ask God how you can love someone who believes differently than you right now. He will uniquely guide you!

To share a story of how this has played out, I have experienced the love of a neighbor from someone who thinks differently. I shared on my FB page why I wasn’t going to the hospital to have my baby. An acquaintance said: ‘Although I don’t agree with you, I admire you for standing up for what you believe in’. Like I said, we had a lot more in common than differences and she showed me love and respect even in our differences.

This isn’t about doing good works and getting into heaven. It’s about having Jesus in your heart and His love changes you so that you delight in doing His work here. If you haven’t asked Jesus into your heart it’s a simple prayer: ‘Jesus, I have hate in my heart. I struggle with loving as you do. There’s things that I do that I know are sinful and wrong and I need help from You. Please come into my life. Come into my heart. I am willing to give you control and follow You. Please forgive me and come into my life, in Your name I pray. Amen’.

It’s a simple prayer but it will radically change your life. His love will radically change our community and world. Are you in?

Just think about how that Jewish man was changed after that Samaritan took care of him. Think of what that Jewish man would be willing to do going forward. Think of how the ripple effect from helping an enemy rise & climb!

Who is ready to love their neighbor?

Someday I will talk about loving your neighbor as yourself is all about, but for now,

-This is Rise & Climb Signing Off