We are living in a season of chaos and uncertainty. Regardless of political, social, and particularly spiritual affiliation, our lives have become inundated with dialogue and debate on hot-button topics like abortion, immigration, transgender individuals, and the unhoused. As a result, we are directly confronted with the contemporary version of the inquiry put to Jesus 2000 years earlier: Who is my neighbor?

We must first recognize that this initial question was an attempt to justify a personal prejudice. In similar practice to the religious leaders described in the New Testament, the lawyer who Jesus spoke with was merely trying to find a loophole in the law; in this case, to avoid having to associate with anyone who was not a devout, law-abiding Jew. And the parable Jesus gives in response is striking. The significance that a Samaritan–a Gentile–is the one to come to the beaten man’s aid (Luke 10) signifies a greater message than a simple surface-level tolerance.

This care is the core of how we as Christ-followers are to live out our calling. Such a calling extends further back than even Jesus’ parable. The biblical concept of loving your neighbor actually originates in the book of Leviticus: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” (19:18) The importance of loving others “as ourselves” reflects a necessity of creation; that in heralding God’s image we are to acknowledge the image of God in those around us.

Christianity has found itself positing different ways in which to live out this calling. Earlier this year, vice-president J.D. Vance expressed the following opinion on a segment on Fox News: “You love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then after that, you can focus [on] and prioritize the rest of the world.”

Personally, I disagree with Vance’s theology. Not only does this statement come in direct contrast with his publicly stated desire that “public policy be motivated by the wisdom of loving thy neighbor,” but also directly contrary to the spirit of what Jesus professes in Scripture.

At the heart of this proposed intersection of policy and biblical doctrine is the Augustinian concept of ordo amoris, translated as “rightly-ordered love,” which has been used to support similar views. There is indeed a sense of this order in Christianity; that is, we must put our love toward God first in order to love others properly. However, using the term in such an isolated context does not fully represent what Augustine meant. Jesus did not only consider fellow Jews, but all people neighbors—an essential part of what made his parable and ministry influential. Our love must be toward God, not country. The image of God cannot be ranked.

I think one of the greatest sins we can commit is neglect. To neglect any part of our physical body results in degradation and pain. To neglect any part of the sociopolitical body results in the same outcomes. Jesus never affirms this sort of nationalistic hierarchy that Vance advocates. In fact, this system is precisely what Jesus contended to dissolve through his earthly ministry. When Jesus says to the lawyer, “Go and do likewise,” he says so with no contradictions. God is a God of “ands,” not “buts.” Go and sin no more.

Multiple references are made throughout Scripture to the issue of how to treat others different from ourselves, particularly those of different nationalities. Also from Leviticus 19 comes a particular command from God: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” Regardless of nationality, disability, housing, status, or identity, we are explicitly called to be one in Christ–a message affirmed throughout the Bible.

Loving your neighbor is at once an incredibly simple and importantly complex act. Being human, we struggle with issues of legality, accommodation, and affirmation, issues which some view as sinful if not applied correctly, and which others view as dependent on context—both views derived in light of Scripture.

Romans 13:10 says that “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Being Christlike must compel us toward unconditional love, even when worldly circumstances attempt to pit us against our own. We must not only consider whether an act is biblical, but also–and perhaps even more so–whether it is Christlike. I feel that, in light of Scripture, we must let love guide us—the love that God first showed us.

We must listen intently to the Spirit and also physically examine whether the actions we are taking affirm or deny the image of God in our neighbors. And I do not take the term “love” lightly–our work must be done with care and avoiding demagoguery.

So, yes, all people are our neighbors.
Even the atheists.
Even the undocumented immigrants.
Even the trans and queer folks.
Even those who disagree with certain styles of government.
Even our enemies.

We cannot ignore our neighbors, lest we ignore God. As Augustine himself states, “You are all looking forward to greeting Christ seated in heaven. Attend to him lying under the arches, attend to him hungry, attend to him shivering with cold, attend to him needy, attend to him a foreigner.” As a neurodivergent man, an embodiment of a modern-day Gentile, I have witnessed how properly caring for our neighbors promotes the kind of flourishing God desires for us all.

1 Corinthians 10:24 says that “no one should seek their own good, but should seek the good of others.” I will freely admit that I fall short in this aspect of faith. Far too often, I look the other way and seek my own good rather than the will of God. If we are to truly love our neighbor–and love God through such acts–we must seek out what truly benefits all people. We must live out what God calls us to do. If we do not love all, we love nobody.

Rightly ordered love requires us to acknowledge all our neighbors, from the least to the greatest. May we all see each other as equally in need of a Samaritan’s care–sheep in need of a shepherd.