Neighbors

What ever happened to neighbors? (sounding like Andy Rooney) When I was growing up I can remember Naitha, Margie and Shirley who all lived on our street just popping in to visit. They would drink coffee with mom while my brother and I would played with their kids. It was fun. There was also Juanita, Helen, Judy and others who lived across town who were often at our house or we at theirs. None of these people went to church with us, they were just friends/neighbors.

Sharon Black lived across the street from us and we were a two person welcoming committee to anyone who moved onto our street. We visited every house and knew everyone. With neighbors like this you could not get into much mischief without your parents learning about it, often before we even got home. None of these people went to church where we did, the were simply neighbors.

We don't get much of that anymore. Now we have to form neighborhood watch groups because nobody knows their neighbors. We come home, turn on the tv, eat dinner, check the e-mail, watch a movie and go to bed and it is tearing away the fabric of our society. People don't trust others like they used to. People are quicker to sue each other, I think in part because there are no consequences....there are no bridges to be burnt because they were never built. Kids can't play outside like they used to. When I was a child, the whole neighborhood looked after each others children. Now parents are afraid to let their children out of their sight.

My circle of friends here revolve around my spiritual family and people that I work with. If you are not in one of those two groups and we are friends, it is probably because our lives did intersect at somepoint due to one of those two groups. My question is, if we are to be light in the world, wouldn't it be smart to begin with our neighbors?

In Him,

David