It’s the age-old story of the epic battle between cats and dogs! I’ve seen it in my own house many times. One such battle inspired this “Beneath the tree cartoon.”
Why do cats and dogs have such an adversarial relationship? One blog post suggests it’s less about the two species always being at war with the other and more to do with getting used to each other.
One of my fond memories of my mom is when she would sing, Getting to Know You, from The King and I. As an introvert, it gave me a sense of the positive possibilities when I am friendly and reach out to people. It’s one way to learn to love our neighbors as The Good Book directs us to.
However, it’s easier said than done, isn’t it? We’ve been taught to be reserved, keep to ourselves, and even be a little suspicious of our neighbors. That tension inspired me to write and draw this cartoon.
This morning, I am going to be teaching kids what it means to love your neighbor. As I’m thinking about this, I naturally tend to think about Mr. Rogers. He had a nice way of making difficult concepts simple. Here is one of his quotes.
“When we look for what’s best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does, so in appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something truly sacred.”
Fred Rogers
We teach our kids to immediately be suspicious of others. We tell our kids to be aware of “stranger danger.” And it is good to help our kids have awareness of potential hazards. Unfortunately, there are evil people out there.
But there are also good people out there. There are ways to nurture giving in our children. And really, loving our neighbor is all about being generous. We can love because we are thankful for what we have and can give to those around us who are in need.
But what if our neighbors have no material needs? We all need to be recognized and affirmed. It may look different for each person. Some may want to be left alone. If so, what are ways we can show love by being considerate and generous?
In a world that teaches us to be scared of our neighbors, I am thinking today about how to treat my neighbor like I would want to be treated. How do we become good neighbors?
“If you burn your neighbor’s house down, it doesn’t make your house look any better.”
Lou Holtz Quotes. BrainyQuote.com, BrainyMedia Inc, 2022. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/lou_holtz_153611, accessed January 7, 2022.
Lou Holtz
Whether you call it backstabbing, mud-slinging, disparagement, gossip, or some other term, it doesn’t do us any good to burn down another person’s house. Negative comments don’t do us any good.
We can tear our friends and neighbor’s down if we like, but we still end up in the middle of a mess. We look weaker for it. We know if someone is negative about another person, they are most likely negative about us as well. So we are cautious about that person. What house will they burn down next?
Politicians have been caught in this trap for decades. When they go against each other, it’s the last person standing that may win, but they don’t look any stronger. The negative ads and comments only make the victor look weak.
It is far better to love our neighbor than to burn down their house. Let’s keep our neighborhood pristine and keep the conversation positive.
When my wife and I began married life, we lived in an upstairs apartment. Our downstairs neighbor had a little dog named Happy. It was ironic because the pooch never seemed to be happy. The poor thing would spend all of her time barking at everything whenever she was outside. As a young adult, I thought it was quite annoying.
Four years later, my wife and I had our first child. When the baby cried, I thought of how ungracious I felt when the dog would bark. I realized a crying baby could be just as annoying to neighbors as a yapping dog.
Nearly twenty-eight years later, that same child is working from home during the quarantine in Phoenix, Arizona. He rents a room from a couple and has to do most of his work from the room because of client privacy rules. Next door, a young vocalist has been practicing. She has been robust in her vocal practice and in singing opera. It’s amazing how things come full circle.
We are living in a time where we may be more aware of our neighbors and their activities than before the quarantine. It is taking some patience and some agapé love to get us through it.
The Washington Post has a great article on ways to work with and be patient with your neighbor during the lockdown. It focuses on apartment dwellers. But considering my son’s situation, it could also apply to suburbanites.
In the end, remember to love your neighbor and show patience to them and their little quirks. If you think about it, you may have a few of your own.
