Look Out for Each Other

"You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman. If your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him. Thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your countryman, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to neglect them." -Deuteronomy 22.1-3

The instructions laid out here tell Israel to look out for each other. Even today livestock are expensive, but back then they were essential. At that point a person usually had only one set of clothing, and so to lose a garment was a really big deal. To find either an animal or piece of clothing would have been like finding gold, but God's instructions are to keep it safe until they find out who it belongs to, and then to return it. The people were not to take advantage of someone else's misfortune, but were to look out for each other.

Today we live very isolated lives for the most part. A lot of people keep to themselves and just want to be left alone. My wife and I have been in our house for almost three months. I've talked to the neighbors on the one side maybe a half dozen times, the people on the other side I've only seen maybe twice and interacted with only once. Part of it is the fact that it's winter and so it's dark when I get home, but I'm finding that people like their privacy. When we lived in our apartment for seven months, there was only one tenant I saw more than a dozen times.

Men, we need to set an example and look out for those around us. If we can help someone out, let us do it. Let us get out of our comfort zones and get to know the people around us. Let us be intentional about building relationships and looking out for the interests of others.

What would happen if we were a society that looked out for each other? What if we did the right thing by caring for stuff we found and then returning it? What if we were a society that interacted with each other not simply for business, but simply to get to know each other?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor