WEEK FIVE: LOW FENCES

“Okay! I’m going to be a good neighbor so I’m going to get intimately involved in everything that is going on in our neighborhood.” In some ways, that statement sound so right and good when it comes to being a good neighbor… but in other ways it sounds so wrong. What does being a “good neighbor” really look like?

Galatians 6:2 tells us to carry each other’s burdens to fulfill the law of Christ. But what does this mean? Look again at Matthew 22:37-40. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” This is what Paul was trying to tell us, but he didn’t stop there. He went on to explain what this looks like in Galatians 6:3-10.

First, he says to understand who you are (and don’t think you are something when you are not). In other words, take responsibility to carry your load. Being a good neighbor means doing what we are responsible for and not relying on our neighbors to carry what we can do for ourselves.  It also means that we are not the “end all” in solving all of the problems in our neighborhoods. We must set good boundaries (both to avoid burnout and to avoid unhealthy behaviors).

We all have known someone who was seen as the neighborhood busybody. They wanted to be involved in everything. They knew the answer to everything and they wanted to fix everything. In most such cases, they became the person that people didn’t want to be around or help out.  We can easily get caught in the trap of trying to be all things to all people because we want to be that “good neighbor.” But without appropriate boundaries and healthy limits, we cannot establish deep and meaningful relationships with people.

Without deep, meaningful relationships, we cannot properly show people the true love of God. This can only happen through authentic communities and relationships. And when we experience this, we can bear one another’s burdens and say no to loads without fear of losing relationship or retaliation. We can find help in hard times, and learn healthy boundaries and examples for carrying our load.