Being a Good Neighbor

Proverbs 3:29

Do not plan evil against your neighbor,
who dwells trustingly beside you.

This is certainly a heinous act. It is terrible to do wrong to anyone, but especially against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you. Aren’t we glad we are not like that!

Have we never desired for our neighbors, when they have offended us, to get their “just desserts”? Are we guilty of imposing motivations and intentions on our neighbors for actions that bother us? “He slammed that door on purpose.” “She knows I hate hearing her dog bark.” “They love to disturb us with their parties.”

We may not plan evil, but then, we are guilty of not planning good, which may be the same thing in God’s eyes. We don’t invite them into our homes. We don’t bring over food to encourage them. We don’t do unto them as we want done for ourselves. Instead, we plan to avoid them, plan to complain to them or about them, maybe even sue them. We plan not to lift a hand to help them. Is this not evil, to withhold good when it is in our power to give it?

And our reasoning is that we are only seeking what is fair. Give thanks to God that he sought not what was fair in regard to us, but what was merciful.