Who Is My Neighbor?

Upon seeing the wounded traveler, the Samaritan “had compassion on him and went to him” and began using every good thing he had–time, knowledge, skills, resources, and money–to take care of him. The Latin root for the word compassion means “to suffer with.” Through his sacrifices, the Samaritan was allowing himself to suffer with the wounded traveler in his affliction. In a world where everything is done to eliminate personal suffering and pain, are we willing to have compassion, to suffer with our neighbors?

A few weeks ago while on a stroll at the end of a summer day, I saw a bright sign posted posted in the lawn of a simple home in my neighborhood. The sign contained three sentences, each identical, but in different languages. The sentences read:  

“No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor.”

Thousands of years ago, Jesus gave council to one man, a lawyer, about neighbors. The man had inquired of Jesus how he might inherit eternal life. “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” The man “willing to justify himself” responded “And who is my neighbour?”

Jesus responded with these words, known as The Parable of the Good Samaritan:

“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”

The first two men who came upon the wounded traveler, being a priest and a Levite, were devoutly religious, and must have regularly participated in worship, sacrifices, blessing others and assisting in the temple. They would have been concerned with living the religious laws and practices, yet, they did not consider assisting this man among them. 

After they passed by, the unlikely occurred: a Samaritan stopped to help. In this time period, Samaritans and Jews felt a deep dislike towards each other. It would have been easy for this resentment to encourage the Samaritan to,  like the others, “pass by on the other side.” But he didn’t. He stopped en route, rising above not only cultural and religious differences, but also the weariness he must have felt from his own journey and the inconvenience of the situation. The Samaritan saw the wounded traveler not as an enemy, an opponent, or an obligation, but as his neighbor.

M. Russell Ballard said, “We are all neighbors and we should love, esteem, respect, and serve one another despite our deepest differences—including religious, political, and cultural differences.”

As his neighbor, the Samaritan wasn’t content with simply waving hello, or muttering a thoughtless “how are you?” only to continue on without listening for a response. No, upon seeing the wounded traveler, the Samaritan “had compassion on him and went to him” and began using every good thing he had–time, knowledge, skills, resources, and money–to take care of him. The Latin root for the word compassion means “to suffer with.” Through his sacrifices, the Samaritan was allowing himself to suffer with the wounded traveler in his affliction. In a world where everything is done to eliminate personal suffering and pain, are we willing to have compassion, to suffer with our neighbors?

At the end of the parable, Jesus invited the inquiring lawyer “go, and do thou likewise.” How can you go, and likewise show compassion for your neighbors? Here are a few simple ideas of practices to develop deeper compassion for those God will place in your path:

• Study examples of compassion in the scriptures
• Eliminate distractions that keep you from noticing the needs of others
• Have the courage to look others in the eyes and acknowledge their presence
• Plan a few extra minutes between your daily responsibilities so you have time to stop and serve others in your path
• Identify, then eliminate the boundaries of your compassion
• Stop judging a person because of her/his circumstances
• Practice having compassion on yourself
• Take an inventory of what God has blessed you with (talents, time, money, material goods, etc.) and use them often to bless others
• Give away something you love to someone who needs it more than you do
• Reach out to someone you know who is stressed, sick, or lonely
• Spend more time listening
• Pray for individuals by name

Invitations: Each day this week, practice one of the ideas listed above.  Create personal goals to help you develop greater compassion for others.