My husband is the sweetest most kindhearted person I know. I may be biased, and I know I don’t have the ability to speak objectively, but I don’t believe he has any enemies. He’s incredibly caring and compassionate, and can make friends with anyone. If you meet us, it’ll take you less than 5 minutes to figure out he’s the friendly one the relationship. Seriously.
Ok, so this post isn’t just to brag about my husband (although I could), but it is relevant to my point. We should all be kind to our neighbors. As Jesus said,“A new commandment I give you, love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another.”- John 13:34. Jesus says we are to love our neighbors as he loves us. We are to take care of each other and help one another out.
Being kind to our neighbors speaks to the ethical dimension of my blog, but also to living frugally. Logan has become good friends with our neighbors. One neighbor offered to let us borrow his power washer this spring to clean our house. The cost would be $80 a day to rent one. He also lets Logan borrow his truck whenever we need it! (I think he felt bad after seeing a dishwasher hangout his car trunk!) Another neighbor gave us a $400 lawnmower that’s still in great shape. It’s a push mower, but our yard isn’t that big and we were looking for a deal on a lawnmower. Can’t beat FREE! Yet another neighbor offered to let my husband borrow any tools when he saw him working on cabinets outside.
Part of living frugally means borrowing! I actually wish that there was a community shed and we could share yard tools. In town where yards aren’t much bigger than 1/2 acre max, what are the chances you’re going to be mowing the same time as your neighbor? If so, wait 30 min and he’ll be done! There are so many other yard tools that I think would be great to share. (Hopefully you’re not writing me off as a hippie who should live in a commune. Although I think they’ve got some things right we can learn from them! )
Logan & I are so blessed to live in a neighborhood where people are living the Gospel message of loving their neighbors and treating them as Jesus would.
I’m not saying be nice to your neighbors because you’ll get free stuff, although you might. But kindness is not forgotten. Even if they do not reciprocate kindness you should have peace knowing that God sees it, and your reward will be great in heaven!
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