of charcoal and love

My brother put his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, looked at me with panic in his eyes and said our neighbor, Mrs. So and So, wanted to talk to dad. She apparently just saw one of his sons (that would be me) steal a bag of charcoal briquettes from her garage.

I took a deep breath, mustered my best grown-up voice and took the call: “This is Jerry Little. Can I help you?”

After describing what she had just seen, I acted outraged. “He did what?! Chris!” I yelled, “you get your #%$* in here right now! I can promise you, Mrs. So and So, he’ll be punished most severely!”

Once the conversation was over the house exploded in laughter as my friends and I savored the excitement of such a close call and my hokey impersonation of my dad.

Though still shaking inside, I acted like it didn’t faze me a bit and promptly went out into the backyard, poured the charcoal into the BBQ pit and fired it up. Looking up at our neighbor’s kitchen window I waved, smiled and went back into the house, all the while secretly praying that my ridiculous “acting” job had really fooled her.

Would she call back later when my folks were around? Would she sic her husband on me? Would she call the police?

Fortunately, none of those things happened. We never heard another peep out of her. Ever. Why I don’t know. “He’ll be punished most severely”? Who talks like that?

As a godless teenager in the early 1970s, I had no idea what the second greatest commandment was, nor would I have cared if I had.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'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.'”1

As a follower of Jesus many years later I’m obviously aware of that commandment. Unfortunately, even though I’m aware of its importance I don’t do so hot in keeping it.

Oh, I don’t steal charcoal from my neighbors (or anything else for that matter), but it’s not like we’re really close. Truth be told, the less we see of each other the better. Just being honest.

But is that what Jesus had in mind? Just don’t steal from them? I’m guessing there’s a little more to it.

As always, I encourage you to join me in my new-found guilt. What kind of neighbor are you? And let’s not forget that Scripture makes it clear that the definition of “neighbor” is really everybody other than you. That’s right, everybody.

In other words, every single human being that we come in contact with Jesus wants us to love the same as we love ourselves.

Ugh.

So do you feel guilty yet? Good--glad to have the company!

But why stay here? What can we do to change how we treat our neighbors, both those who live next door and those we will see today, tomorrow and the next day?

Me? I’m going to start by not stealing any charcoal briquettes from them and then lying about it.

What about you?

Jesus: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

1  Matthew 22:36-39