A neighbor is someone who is different from you. A neighbor is someone outside your circle, someone you would never look to for emotional, social, or economic advantage. It might even cost you those very things to love a neighbor. A neighbor could be your enemy, or even more complicated, a neighbor could be your friend’s enemy.
Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
That means I need to take time to listen to someone like I would like to be listened to. It means I acknowledge someone in a way that I would like to be acknowledged. I am to show dignity, honor, and respect in ways that would be meaningful if someone were to do those things for me. It means I am not to label people who are different from me. I am not to categorize them, dehumanize them, or demonize them any more than I would like someone to do that to me.
Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
If I take the time to love someone who is different than me, maybe they will become a friend.
Love a friend and, in Christ, maybe they will someday become family.
