Indifferent Neighbours
SHEE TSE LOONOG [SINGAPORE]
I RECOGNISE a similarity between
the parable of The Good Samaritan and that of The Rich Man and Lazarus. The
former was spoken in answer to the question, “Who is my neighbour?” The latter
describes two neighbours separated by a door, with the luxury of one in stark
contrast to the poverty of the other. Indeed the teaching of neighbourliness is
of great significance to a Christian, to whom is enjoined the great commandment
of loving God and men.
The two parables are in a way
complementary, in that one focuses on leaders while the other, on ordinary
believers. Caring for the brethren is a responsibility of each and every one.
Therefore nobody should say he is too busy to care. The wounded man en route to
Jericho was met
by three people, all able to render help. This somewhat reflects our situation
today, especially in church. There are needy ones among us, but there are many
more of us who have the means to help. We are not in a desperate situation
where our overstretched resources fill to keep up with a never-ending call for
help. The problem lies with our indifference - if we do not even bother to know
people well, the wounded soul next to us would not be a neighbour, but a
stranger. This would be incompatible with the fact that we are of the same
household, and directly conflicts with the charge: “So then, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the
household of faith.”1
Knowing our fellow members
enhances our ability to help, for many cases of genuine need are not as
apparent as a physically wounded victim lying by the wayside. We are talking
about an extended family of hundreds, of people different in diverse manners,
who do not simply sound their woes at the top of their voices. Some are of such
low profiles that their very existence is unknown to most. How then can we
respond to their needs? Of course, at the grassroots, there ought to be
spontaneity in mutual care and concern, but just as a firm cannot afford to
have a management at the top which is detached from actual situations governing
the market, the church cannot afford to have at its helm a breed of
administrators who are more interested in paper than in people. The uncaring
attitude of the two religious clerics - a priest and a Levite - has caused
uneasiness in many an honest church leader who feels that he has not cared
quite enough for the flock. He might not have bypassed anyone who he knew
needed help, but regrets upon introspection, being largely passive in his
pastoral care. He then seeks to be more diligent in knowing the condition of
the flock,2 and to draw closer to people in the hope that they would
open themselves to him. I find myself agreeing with the motto of one Christian
organisation: Hearts to Goat Hands to Men. I am not too certain whether ‘out of
touch’ leaders can have their hearts to God, but I am convinced that their
hands cannot be to men if their bases are stuck to their seats.
It must be realised that
leadership is stewardship,3 not lordship.4 Just as much
as others should respect their authority, leaders should recognise their duty.
Even the exercise of authority should be according to how duty prompts. To
administer affairs without ministering to needs would be poor discharge of
duty. Outside establishments like welfare and counselling services, religious
or otherwise, can be easily accessed. It would be a shame to see children of
God picking up crumbs that fall from the table of the world because their
Father’s stewards are not giving them their portions at the time when they have
need.5 Jesus did not spare His audience possible embarrassment when
He continued the story by having a Samaritan, a despised outsider, play the
genuine neighbour to the wounded man. A leadership which knows the people well
and responds promptly to their needs would save itself from the embarrassment
of having unbaptised truth-seekers attending to the needs of weaker baptised
members whose faces are unfamiliar to the leaders themselves.
There is no short-cut to
establishing relationships and communication networks in church. It involves
time and sacrifice, besides being sensitive, sincere, helpful and genuinely
concerned. Caring actions are not manufactured in a factory. The church
certainly requires more than standardised care given at births, weddings and
deaths. Cards, gifts and wreaths do not have a heart, only humans do. It is
important to consciously take note as to who have been missing from services.
It is necessary to regularly check if everything is fine with our members’
families, careers, or studies and to see that these areas do not affect their
spiritual lives. The old and the illiterate ought to receive proper spiritual
nourishment. Newly baptised converts ought to receive proper follow-up. We ought
to be personal. We ought to care for people as individuals, not just familiar
faces with unfamiliar names.
Turning our focus to the general
congregation, the efforts of the leaders must be replicated before a
church-wide atmosphere of familial love can be generated. Moses was a good
leader, but with a multitude of uncooperative people, there was little he could
do. People that make up the congregation must reflect the warm, caring ways of
the leadership in order to dispel the callous, indifferent disposition that may
exist. God causes the rich and the poor to co-exist.6 One may not
need to look beyond his local church to find poor neighbours, and our Christian
duty does not allow us to dress in purple while some brethren are in rags, or
to feast in luxury while they desire of our crumbs. True religion is “to visit
orphans and widows in their afflication.”7
How about the spiritually
impoverished? Are we concerned for the salvation of others? Christ abandoned
His glory as God in heaven to look into our eternal interests. The Bible
exhorts us to have this mind of Christ in looking “not only to (our) own
interests, but also to the interests of others”.8 Our imitation of
God should be “as beloved children”9 imitating the Father. As the
Father is the Sun of righteousness10 that shines on us all, we are
lamps that brighten the house where we11. As the Father is the rain
that nourishes our souls,12 we can give a cup of cold water to a
thirsty one.13 The Bible promises: “he who waters will himself be
watered”.14 On the other hand, the Bible proclaims woe on those
indifferent ones “who are at ease in Zion”, those “who lie upon beds of ivory
and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and
calves from the midst of the stall; who sing idle songs to the sound of the
harp” but are not grieved over the misery of their brethren.15 What
a contrast these couch-lying, idle-singing people make with the sleeping Christ
in the stem! One fell into slumber due to fatigue, who had no proper place to
lay His head;16 the other lay upon beds of comfort to pamper their
idle bones. When duty calls, the idle ones remain indifferent. Yet Christ’s
well-deserved rest was disturbed by His faithless companions who roused Him
with the rude remark, “Do you not care if we perish?”17 But we are
the ones who do not care even though our Saviour labours on today. He says, “My
Father is working still, and I am working.”18
One final word: If anyone sees his
brethren in need and yet closes his heart against him, God’s love does not
dwell in him.19 And as for him who has not seen his brother’s needs,
may this article open his eyes.
1.Galatians 6:10
2.Proverbs 27:23
3.1 Corinthians 4:5; Luke 12:42
4.1 Peter 5:3
5.Luke 12:42
6.Proverbs 22:2
7.James 1:27; cf 2:15-16
8.Philippians 2:4
9.Ephesians 5:1
10.Malachi 4:2
11.Matthew 5:15
12.Hosea 6:3
13.Matthew 10:42
14.Proverbs 11:25
15.Amos 6:1, 4-6
16.Matthew 8:20
17.Mark 4:38
18.John 5:17
19.1 John 3:17
