The above question would seem to be one of those questions which is quite easy to answer, and perhaps it is. The problem though, with knowing who our neighbor is, comes down to us behaving in a way and manner that is consistent with what a neighbor should so represent for all of us. That is to say, when we are very young, it’s excusable for us to only love our own family, and our own environment, and to be therefore protective of such; for these are the good people that sustain and validate us, day in and day out. Yet, as we mature, we need to recognize that a world that is based simply upon the concept of “me-ness” or “us-ness,” of which we thereby believe that all outsiders, should thus bend to our selfish desires and will, signifies that we have basically got the neighborly thing, fundamentally wrong.
Each of us, is an equal creation of the very same God, which thereby means, ignorant or aware, that each of us has the same unalienable rights as the other, for we are all part of the very same whole. In other words, either we are truly all in this world, together, equally entitled to the fruits thereof, or for whatever reason, there is instead an inborn hierarchy within this dimension, in which, thereby some of us are privileged and meant to dominate over the other. It is disappointing, that so many people apparently believe that there really is a hierarchy, God-sanctioned or not, which is the very basis for all the wars, hatred, disrespect, and contempt, so many people and societies show to one another. Obviously, with that type of corrupt mindset, our neighbor is only going to be someone that has the same belief system, and all those that do not, are adjudged to be something less than what we are.
All those that want to spend an inordinate amount of time, debating about their merits as compared to the other person’s demerits, aren’t doing anybody any favors. Rather, each of us, needs to open up our unseeing eyes, and to determine, once and for all, as to whether we are or are not equally created by the hand of God; and for all those that recognize the intuitive answer to that question, this becomes the basis of understanding that we are all neighbors, for we are all family. This thus indicates that our most noble duty is to conduct our affairs in a way and manner in which we foremost, to the degree that we are so able, always treat one another with the respect and consideration, that we owe to sentient human beings with eternal souls.
Those that are most lost, are the very same people, that need our neighborly help the most. Of course, a significant portion of those people, will ultimately be those that are unable for one reason or another, to fully accept our help or our aid – at least at that time and place. Still, we must do, the very same duties and obligations, that we would want someone to do for us, if we were lost, confused, and misguided; for we are all sheep of the very same flock, and to believe that the Good Shepherd will leave any of His flock behind, is to misunderstand and misconstrue the very meaning of one and of whole.