3.15.11

Proverbs 11:12 It is foolish to belittle one's neighbor; a sensible person keeps quite.

My Thoughts

Neighbor is defined as a person or thing that is near another, one's fellow human being.. My son John-Robert put it best once when he said that your neighbor can be the hardest person to love... they are so close to you that you know all their faults...they are so close to you that they can be the most annoying because they are always there. When people annoy us we want to talk about it!!...  Our neighbor, at work, at play can often feel like our enemy and we want to talk about that too.  They can be the person that hurts us the most on a daily basis... and we want to talk about that too.... Jesus says in Matthew 5:44-45 "But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven." Our neighbor could be the person that needs us the most to be loving and kind... to show what the heart of God is like... to show what God can do for us... if we have gone about belittling our neighbor how can we reach them?  But if we turn the other cheek, of we are good and sweet and kind... if we keep quite, because after all we don't know what that person has been through to make him act the way he does. We could be the person that makes a difference.  It is important to always remember that we may be the only Bible some people ever see.  I have belittled somebody that hurt my feelings, to justify my anger or hurt, to have somebody be on my side.  It has never ever made a situation better..in hindsight it was foolish. It is always one of those things that made me feel better for one minute..then feel worse for a long time after.  It is a foolish thing to do even to ourselves.  God protects us when we live in His will. So even if your work neighbor, your neighborhood neighbor, your mom at the ballfiled neighbor is doing something hurtful or annoying if you live inside God's will and turn the other cheek, love your enemies, pray for your enemies you will be rewarded.  I would much rather be rewarded than go to bed with the guilt I always end up feeling when I belittle another person....Yes sometimes we have to talk about it!... When we choose to talk about how hurt we feel or how angry we are...we don't need to tell another neighbor, we need to tell God.  Then listen to the Holy Spirit guide our actions. God only makes right choices for us in our lives so isn't that the best place to get advice.