12 Steps To Heaven: #5, Don't Harm Your Neighbor

Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?...

He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor…

Psalm 15:1-3 (NKJV)

In the Old Testament, God says a lot about how we choose to treat our neighbors. The last two of His top Ten Commandments are what NOT to do. He connects life or death, Heaven or hell, to their benefit or their harm… by us.

When He was here, Jesus fulfilled God's Laws--and simplified Them! That being said, where neighbors are concerned, Jesus MAGNIFIES His Father’s first Laws:

  • 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first Commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other Commandment greater than These' (Mark 12:30-31).

Actors, models, and talent for Christ:

Maybe you're like the lawyer in Luke 10, and you’re wondering 'Who is my neighbor?' (Luke 10:29).

This lawyer’s critical question prompted the story of the Good Samaritan: a stranger who opted to stop and help an injured man on the side of the road. This poor man had already been ignored by fellow Jews- and even by ‘holy’ men.

Actors, models, and talent for Christ:

Your neighbors include down-and-out people that your Director places in your path. 

  • They're next door. They're on your street and your set.

  • They're at church, work, school, and the stores you like.

  • They're the fans who watch you and follow you:

NOTE:

Modern media has changed everything. You have more neighbors than ever before! They’re watching you through windows, we called screens. Your Father is watching how you treat them!

Why?

You are their hope. So love them and lead them, including those who seem unlovable…

How?

By your gracious acts. By your example… of joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness. Paul put it this way:

  • 'Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor' (1 Corinthians 10:24). 

Love them and lead them… by your gracious acts!

12 Steps To Heaven: #5 Don’t Harm Your Neighbor (Part 7)

NOTE: God is my Ghostwriter. If what I write is good, it’s from God. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players. Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings. Parts of this series are edits of a prior Carey Lewis Devotion series, first published in 2014.

Carey Arban