“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Romans 12:17-18
It can be tempting to lose your cool when a neighbor crosses the line and disrespects you…especially if you’ve only been friendly and respectful to them.
When my new neighbor decided to fly his remote-controlled drone over me as I worked in my yard, I had a decision to make.
My flesh wanted to unload on all of his faults: his loud minibike riding, his noisy power tools, his creepy drone flying over my property…but instead I just stood up, stared up at the (camera-equipped) drone, and stared across the street at his house.
Somewhere over there, he was controlling that drone and seeing me. I raised my arms up to say, What’s with the drone, dude? Not cool!
Then the drone flew away back toward his house and out of sight. Point made, point taken.
A few days later I was out front working on removing a stump and chopping on it with a hatchet. My drone-flying neighbor came over with a cordless saw and said, “I think this might be faster.” He then made quick work of a piece I’d been working on for twenty minutes! I thanked him for his help. I think he knew he’d crossed the line of annoyance and sought to make amends.
What did the Lord teach me here? When offended (disrespected), it’s better to be calm and assertive than impatient and aggressive. People actually respect when you are firm and not a pushover.
But if I had lost my cool and yelled at this new neighbor regarding his annoying antics, I’d be burning bridges to a possible great future. He still rides his loud minibike up and down the street obnoxiously, but it no longer bothers me.
He still has rough edges, but I want to be gracious to him, his wife, and his young daughter. I want them to see Christ in me and my wife.
Try to be gracious with your hard neighbors. They do have value in God’s eyes, and you might be the one to bring out their good qualities and soften their rough edges.
(And perhaps God will use them to smooth out your rough edges, too.)
Have a blessed day, neighbor!
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Thank you for sharing this testimony today Eric. It is so true we need to make a choice in how we respond to others who “cross the line” with us; I have been down that road recently with my neighbour. It sounds like a small door of gospel opportunity may be slightly ajar in the future with your neighbour; I will pray for you in this regard. May our Father God continue to guide and bless you each day brother 🙏
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Yes sir, I hope to share the gospel one day…👍🏻👍🏻
I’ll pray for you and your neighbor today, also. I know that every situation is different because every person is different. The encouragement is that God knows our neighbors better than we do, and He knew that we’d be living next to them at this time…May He be glorified as you represent Christ and demonstrate Godliness, brother. Have a blessed day!👍🏻🙏
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Thank you for this advice! I often forget that God brings people into our lives for a reason. Sometimes, we are the only Jesus others see. We need to react with love and empathy.
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My Pastor says this: “God doesn’t put people IN YOUR WAY, He puts people ON YOUR PATH.”
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Yes!
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Your account of your experience with a challenging neighbor has such a gratifying outcome! Thank you for sharing how well a proper response worked in this particular situation. Let us all strive to show others the Christ in us! Great post, Eric. 🙂
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Thank you, Nancy! I am having more and more encounters with him and his “toys”….am finding my flesh is annoyed less and less, which is a good thing.👍🏻👍🏻
Have a blessed day!
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That’s was a great response. But your right, all to often these situations can get out of hand very quickly. And you never know you maybe the tool God needs to turn his heart. Enjoyed my read. God bless you and your family… Robin
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