Who is my neighbor?

I hold myself--not the government, but myself--responsible for doing what I can to alleviate need I see in my neighbors.  A year or so ago, it was literally across the street: we had Bob and June Wheeler move into a house on the corner across the street that should have been torn down years ago.  They had nothing.  Literally nothing.  Only barely enough clothes for their kids.  No water, no electricity--the house wasn't up to code, and they couldn't afford to turn on their utilities, anyway.

We fed them all summer.  Took June to pick up an antibiotic prescription.  Helped literally as much as we could, up to and including attempting to get them signed up for the aid that they desperately needed, and what we couldn't afford to provide.

And then, we helped them scrape the money together to put gas in their truck to move in with her mother, most of the state away from us. 

It is my responsibility, when I see need, to do what I can to alleviate that need without endangering my own family's survival. 

That's why I linked this guy's GoFundMe page.  From what I gather, he is a patriot.  He has worked, and worked hard, all of his life.  He had an accident--which he didn't cause through bad behavior, mind you--and can't work any longer. 

In the Bible, Jesus was asked, "Who is my neighbor?"  He told a long, beautiful story about a man who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead, and how people who should have stopped and helped, didn't.  How somebody that, by all rights, should not have felt obligated, stopped.  It wasn't the government that helped.  It wasn't the church.  It was an ordinary, everyday individual.

The main point was, and still is, that we are all neighbors.  We are all supposed to help one another back up when we fall.  We are all supposed to nurse one another back to health when we're sick, clothe one another when we're in need, and feed one another when we're hungry.  We aren't supposed to shrug, say, "Well, I pay taxes--let the government do it," or "Isn't that what the church is supposed to do?" 

I can help Steven at the end of the month.  I can't help now.  He needs as much help as he can get, as fast as he can get it. 

He is my neighbor.  I am doing what I can, even if all I can do at the moment is to help get the word out.