Proverbs 3:28-35

Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give.

Neighbourliness

I. What is due to others? (Proverbs 3:27). There is a sense in which debt should be avoided, and a sense in which all men must be always over head and ears in it (Romans 13:8). Love is a debt that can never be discharged. As followers of Christ we must love always and love all. Some men are neighbours because they reside in the same street, and all men are neighbours because they reside on the same planet. “Shivering,” says Dr. Punshon, “in the ice-bound, or scorching in the tropical, regions, in the lap of luxury, or in the wild hardihood of the primeval forest--belting the globe in a tired search for rest, or quieting his life amid the leafy shade of ancestral woods, gathering all the decencies around him like a garment, or battling in the fierce raid of crime in a world which has disowned him, there is an inner human-ness everywhere which binds that man to me by a primitive and by an indissoluble bond.”

II. The needs of others. Real goodness is--

1. Practical. It finds expression in giving. All nature is redolent of such beneficence. The earth gives fruit; the sky gives rain; the sun gives light. So is it with nature’s God. He gave, says one, “the best thing in heaven for the worst thing on earth.”

2. Prompt. It says, not tomorrow, but to-day--not by and by, but now. “Keep,” says William Arnot, “as few good intentions hovering about as possible.” A kind deed done quickly is twice done, and if some deeds are not done quickly they will never be done at all.

III. The confidence of others (Proverbs 3:29). Evil growing out of a betrayal of confidence is one of the worst forms of evil. There are confidences of--

1. A national character. Israel rested upon the staff of Egypt, but it turned out to be “a bruised reed” (2 Kings 18:21).

2. A friendly character. Such confidence was betrayed by Ahithophel (Psalms 41:9), and by Judas (John 13:18).

3. A business character. The confidence of an employer in his assistant. This may be betrayed by wasting the master’s goods (Luke 16:1), or by misappropriating them (Exodus 20:15; Ephesians 4:28.).

IV. The Integrity Of Others (Proverbs 3:30). The strife of law courts has brought misery to thousands of innocent people. Some people are always inventing grievances.

V. The Sins Of Others (Proverbs 3:31). Oppression is opposed to neighbourliness. Some modern employers of labour will surely stand aghast when the time for this reckoning comes. Well might the wise man say of such, “Choose none of his ways.”

VI. To Ourselves (Proverbs 3:32). Goodness has its reward. Two companion pictures teach this by a graphic contrast.

1. The hatred versus the friendship of the Lord. From the unneighbourly God turns away, but His face is towards the upright. To enjoy the friendship of God we must be the friends of men.

2. The curse versus the blessing of the Lord. To bless is to be blessed. The merciful shall obtain mercy. (H. Thorne.)