who do we consider as our neighbor

 When you refer to someone as your neighbor, to a lame man it simply means ‘a person living next door’….. But the true meaning of neighbor is far beyond human reasoning. In a world filled with lots of tribal, ethnic, religious and racial sentiments, who do we consider as our neighbors? The one who laughs with you but deep down wishes you evil, your compatriots who in a foreign land sell you for twelve pieces of silver? In this context, your neighbor is that person who comes to your aid in time of need; regardless of origin, race or religion.

The world has been deprived of peace and harmony because we don’t recognize who our neighbors are: living together means accepting differences and respecting others, as well as living in a peaceful and united way. On a daily basis, the headlines on most news are mostly of racial killings and religious executions. The recent killing of late George Floyd in the United States is proving that we as humans don’t know what it takes to build a neighborhood - a neighborhood without conflicts, a neighborhood with diverse culture where peace reigns, a neighborhood where all race can live in peace without fear of segregation.

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Neighborhood is a special kind of family; not related by blood, but by societal bond. A bond which builds and grows with time, this form of family is closest in times of distress. You may not notice your closeness or fondness with your neighbor until you relocate – “you’ll never know what you have until you lose it.”

Some lessons are best learnt with experience, sadly, I learnt mine when I moved from Lagos to Ogun State part of Nigeria. At first, it wasn’t easy coping with the new environment, because some part of me has been left behind. My family (my former neighbors) couldn’t move to my new location, making the transition a rather slow and slightly painful one, to some extent. But slowly I began to realize, “change is the only constant thing in life.” The people may change, but the term neighbor remains.

Who are our neighbors? Again and again, we ask ourselves this question, waiting for someone to come up with the right answers – even with the answers staring us in the face. The parable of the Good Samaritan wholly explained the word ‘NEIGHBOR’ with a vivid illustration and without any contradictions.

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The parable of the Good Samaritan was told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is about a Jewish traveler who was stripped, beaten, and left half dead by the road. First a Jewish priest and then a Levite came upon the man, but both avoided him. Finally, a Samaritan happens upon the traveler; at that time the Samaritans and the Jews were at conflict, but this very Samaritan acted differently and took care of the traveler without hesitation.

The term “good Samaritan” is often used by all religion and secular circles generally referring to a good person that helps strangers in need – strangers today might be your saving grace tomorrow. After the parable, as Jesus often does, he threw a question to the listening crowd asking them, who art thy neighbor?

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