Neighbor Love
Category : Blogpost
Neighbor Love (Leviticus 19:18)
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Let me share something my grandmother taught me. She quoted Leviticus 19:18 to me one day, and I responded:
“Love who? The neighbor who keeps me up all night with their loud music? The neighbor who leaves his trash in the hallways and doesn’t clean up after his pets? Or maybe you’re talking about the snooty neighbor who refuses to speak. Or could you be referring to the neighbor who calls the police on me just for being Black?”
My grandmother flashed a knowing smile. “Child,” she said, “the scripture isn’t about them first. It’s about you.”
She explained that loving your neighbor starts with loving yourself: the whole, beautiful, Black, divinely-created you. The “love your neighbor” part becomes less about their behavior and more about your attitude and the posture of your heart.
It’s the patience you extend in a long line. It’s checking on that elder on your block. It’s refusing to let bitterness take root, because you know your own worth too well to be diminished by anyone’s ignorance.
Our faith and our ancestors’ legacy call us to a higher law, one that begins with radical self-love and radiates outward. Start with your own heart today. The rest will follow.