You can generally choose where you live, but you can’t always choose your neighbors. I’ve been fortunate over the years to have some really good neighbors. In fact, I have a great neighbor on both sides of me right now, but not everybody is so blessed.
Neighbor relations can be difficult. There can be disputes over boundaries and noise. You may not like how they keep their property up or feel that they are nosy. There can also be cultural or personality differences. The list goes on. And because neighbors can be difficult, we are tempted to get aggravated with them and even despise them.
But listen to today’s wisdom from Proverbs 14:21, “Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner.” In other words, God hates it when we despise our neighbor. We despise our neighbor when pass judgment on their differences, when we disrespect them and make assumptions about them and talk bad about them to others. We despise our neighbors when are inconsiderate of them or try to compete with them. All of these are ways we can sin against our neighbor.
But God has a different plan for our neighbor relations. He clearly commands us through Jesus to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In other words, treat your neighbor how you want to be treated. That sort of approach will not only change your relationship with your neighbor, it’ll change you!
Change begins in you!
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