Where are the "GOOD NEIGHBORS"?

Where are the good neighbors?

I was visiting my mum’s church last Sunday and was really touched by a story one of the ministers shared. I was touched on two fronts, first by what she did which left a warm feeling in my heart but this was quickly taken over by sadness of the reality of “Who we have become”. According to her, while on her way to church that morning, they had stopped at a traffic light and she was about 3^rd or 4^th car from the front. When the light turned green, they noticed the first car did not move, people honked and hooted yet the car did not move. The other car drivers started to maneuver their way around the first car and drove off. She did the same. When she got near the car she noticed the driver in the car had his head bowed down as do in deep sleep and she drove past. A few meters forward, she felt a nudge to go and check on the driver. She parked her car and walked back to confirm if the driver was OK. Apparently the man had some sort of ‘seizure’ and eventually was stable enough to respond.  

Her story reminds me of a story in the bible, the story of the Good Samaritan (Luk10:25-37). It was Sunday morning and one can assume a number of Christians were on their way to church that morning, but most had more important things to do just like the Priest and the Levi. A while ago, a preacher shared that the most likely reason that the Priest and Levi passed on the other side was to avoid having to touch a dead body. This was understandable as the law in that time was that Priests should not touch dead body (Lev 21:1 -4). The question I asked myself was, if the priest was trying to obey the law, why did Jesus still say that he did not behave like a good neighbor? Recall that Jesus gave the parable in the context of someone asking him “what is the greatest commandant” for which the answer was “Love the lord with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself”. We can infer that Jesus expected that the Priest and Levi should have been good neighbors inspite of the risk of personal inconvenience – i.e. becoming ceremoniously unclean.

Today we don’t run the risk of being ceremoniously unclean, but we have very many “good” reasons to look the other way. The risk of being accused by police for being a criminal if anything goes wrong while trying to help, is probably the chief of all. The fact that fraudsters have taken advantage of people’s goodness, every request for help from a stranger is viewed with suspicion. I know a lot of us have personal experiences, or know at least one person who had suffered personal loss or injury in their attempt to do good. And most, like me have made up their mind to only do good when you are extremely sure of all the facts. The question I forget to ask is “What does Jesus expect from me”? I wish I had the right answer or solution but I don’t. I understand it is a double whammy situation. I agree with need to be cautious and not throw all caution to wind with regards to our safety. But I know that I don’t like who we have become. And If I am to judge by the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus would not like who we have become either.

Actual Photo of the baby taken by an onlooker
and posted online

The reality of “Who we have become” hit me really hard on Jan2015 when I read an article in Punch newspapers about a child that was abandoned at Abule Egba area in Lagos. Crowds gathered, people took pictures and posted online and made comments, someone was kind enough to notify the authorities, but no one did the needful – pick up the child and take him out of harms way. The first reported online posting was by 11am, however by the time the authorities arrived at 5pm, the child was dead. My heart bleeds every time I think about this story because this child had no business dying in the open under scorching sun, because people were more concerned about not being “ceremoniously unclean” than being a good neighbor. I kept asking myself “who have we become” and how did we become so unconcerned about our neighbors.

We can’t do much about our past. We can’t bring this child to life. We can however start to take little steps towards building a society that loves their neighbor. We don’t even have to do much, maybe a smile, maybe a small act of kindness, make the cleaning lady’s life easier today, be concerned about the other road users and the list goes on. Let’s decide that in little ways, in everyday day life, I will be a better neighbor today. Maybe, just maybe, I dare to dream, one day Jesus will really be proud of “Who we have become”.

Remain blessed