Did You Know...

Did you know that Martin Luther King talked about neighboring?

Really…

He does!

We are not making this up just because we love neighboring…

or because it is MLK Day…

or because they both are totally awesome!

Martin Luther King really did talk about the importance of being a good neighbor in his book Strength to Love. Just pick up a copy for only $13 on Amazon ( or $9.42 used) and turn to chapter three. There you will see “On Being a Good Neighbor.”

Go ahead, give it a read.

I took some time to read the chapter today myself, and I was both inspired and convicted by the importance of neighboring.

Below is some of King’s advice on being a good neighbor. (Note these quotes are taken out of context from his writing. I highly recommend you go actually read the chapter yourself!)

”Who is my neighbor?… He is anyone toward whom you are neighborly. He is anyone who lies in need at life’s roadside. He is neither Jew nor Gentile; he is neither Russian nor American; he is neither Negro nor white. He is a ‘certain man’ - any needy man - on one of the numerous Jericho roads of life.”

“The good Samaritan was altruistic to the core. What is altruism? The dictionary defines altruism as “regard for, and devotion to, the interest of others. The Samaritan was good because he made concern for others the first law of his life.”

“One of the great tragedies of man’s long trek along the highway of history has been the limiting of neighborly concern to tribe, race, class, or nation.”

“The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all [people] human and, therefore, brothers.”

“The true neighbor will risk [their] position, [their] prestige, and even [their] life for the welfare of others.”

May we embark together on the great risk of neighboring in our lives as we remember Dr. King’s legacy!