Don’t do evil

“Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you.”
-Proverbs 3:29

For a few months while in college, I had a neighbor right above me. Every Saturday and Sunday mornings, starting at about 7:00 or 8:00, he would start playing country music really loud. I doubt that would be a problem for me today, since I am an early riser, but at the time, I was working on Friday and Saturday nights until after midnight. In addition, I absolutely loath modern country music, so this was sort of adding insult to injury.

As annoying as that was, it’s not really what this verse is talking about. Perhaps, when I was wakened so early by the noise, I would have considered this a grievous evil. And indeed, we should be considerate of our neighbors, but Solomon is thinking a little bigger here.

The Pharisees in Jesus’ day made the mistake of interpreting the word “neighbor” here to only mean those who live next to you or those whom you like. That’s not what it means. Your neighbor is, yes, those who live next to you and your friends, but it is also the people in your town, your countrymen, and even those in neighboring countries. They are the people you encounter online, those you see on the television, and those on the other side of the world who need your help. In short, everyone you encounter is your neighbor.

We don’t often plan evil for our friends, but what about our customers? Do we intentionally misrepresent ourselves to people for money? In politics, do we vote for those people who promise to shift problems to another county or state? For example, do we vote to have power plants built anywhere but where we live? Do we vote to increase the taxes on people of another tax bracket than we are in, like when we of the middle class vote to increase taxes on the wealthy? How quick are we to sue someone if there is a chance to get a little money? What about suing a company? That is easier still, since we sort of view companies as inhuman entities, not realizing that court judgments against them will result in stockholders losing sometimes much needed money and employees losing jobs. There are so many situations where we will use what power we have to take advantage of another person.

This becomes a lot easier as our cities grow bigger. I live in a city where I can pass someone on the street and never see that person again, simply because this city is so large. It’s so easy to take advantage of someone you will never see again.

This is one of the most wonderful things about Jesus – that He did not plan evil against us. He was mocked, challenged, beaten, betrayed, and crucified, and yet He still prayed for us to be forgiven. Surely we deserve evil against us; our lives are filled with selfishness, pride, hatred, lust, greed, and irreverence toward God, but still Jesus died to provide for us a way to return to the Father. If we repent and believe in Him, we will be saved.

We may not take that way. We may reject Him and go our own way. But if we do that, it is on us, not Him. He has given us chance after chance to come to life. He does not plan evil against us, but instead provides the way to good.