The poorly-chosen neighborhood

When looking for a new place to live, some people make poor choices, usually by not looking carefully at the house or the neighborhood for possible problems: the picturesque backyard stream that floods the basement with every rain, the tranquil blue skies that at night become the main corridor for the local airport, the constant presence of TV news trucks and grim-faced reporters on nearby street corners, etc.

In today’s first reading (Genesis 13:2, 5-18), Abraham’s nephew very much likes the look of the neighborhood he is moving into: some decent waterfront property with heavenly landscaping.

What he fails to take into consideration is that his new neighbors are, to put it simply, evil.

This reading is a good reminder for us, especially when combined with our Lord’s warning at the beginning of today’s Gospel (Matthew 7:6, 12-14):

Do not give what is holy to dogs,
or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot,
and turn and tear you to pieces.

To be sure, we must treat people properly (as our Lord also says in today’s Gospel: "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you").

Moreover, we are also called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth: Christ’s witnesses in the midst of a darkening world.

Yet we must also be constantly and keenly aware of the neighborhood we are in (something that goes far deeper than the physical environment of the place where we live): to be vigilant regarding how the people around us are not necessarily friends of the Gospel and how keeping in step with the prevailing culture generally leads us away from Christ.

In our spiritual and moral lives, may we always avoid neighborhood naiveté, keep aware of our surrounding, and (most importantly) keep our focus fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ.