Recently, I returned from an extended holiday overseas. I greatly enjoyed travelling around, seeing sights, well known and unexpected. Trying different foods is always an experience, often enjoyed, sometimes memorable for the wrong reasons. Meeting new people is always rewarding. Spending time talking with strangers from different backgrounds and different cultures can be fascinating. Their different experiences of life and how they have shaped how they see the world which we share can both delight and sadden.
One of the more interesting aspects of travelling is seeing the diversity of housing, especially when compared with Australia. Even though we love the idea of the quarter acre block, duplexes are becoming more common in Australia. However, we lag a long way behind Britain and their ubiquitous semi-detached houses. High density high-rise living is also becoming more common, especially in our big cities, but we have a long way to go to match the housing density of Singapore and their row upon row of high-rise housing, some public some private.
Although the style and density of our housing differs greatly from many other countries there is one topic of conversation that is common to all, neighbours. Not the TV show, although this was a hot topic with one taxi driver in the UK who suggested that Australia owes it to the rest of the world to keep making Neighbours. No matter which country we live in we all have neighbours. We may share a party wall with them, or they live above or below us. No matter which country I was in, it was relatively easy to involve a complete stranger in a conversation about their neighbours, their faults and occasionally why they were good neighbours.
Rarely did anyone voice their thoughts on whether they were a good neighbour or not. I suspect that most of us like to think of ourselves as good neighbours. In Kangaroo Valley there are many stories of the good things that neighbours have done for each other. These can range from small gestures of kindness to more significant efforts to safeguard lives and livelihoods. I think that one of the great advantages of living in small community is that we know our neighbours. Unlike cities, where being ignorant of who lives next door or down the street is often seen as a good thing.
Jesus was once approached by an expert in the law and asked which of the commandments was the most important. Jesus’ reply was that there were two, the second of which was to love your neighbour. No matter where we are in the world, I suspect that most of us are quick to judge the actions of our neighbours, but do we stop to ask ourselves are we good neighbours?
Being a good neighbour is more than just being friendly towards each other. Being friendly is relatively easy and doesn’t cost us anything. We can all greet with a smile the people who live close to us. Sharing our views on the weather and the fate our favourite sporting team is just what people do.
Being a good neighbour runs deeper. Being a good neighbour means that we seek the welfare of those around us. This is not that we are interfering busybodies. Rather, being a good neighbour means that we have purposely and deliberately sought to build relationships with each other. In doing so we are able to be called on in times of need and invited to share in the good times.
In Kangaroo Valley we, rightly I think, pride ourselves on being a close-knit community. We are self-sufficient as a community and quick to answer the call. But are we good neighbours? Our community spirit is a group thing; being good neighbours requires a more individual approach.
Yours in Christ,
Andrew Heron
