{"id":23209,"date":"2026-03-11T14:22:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/love-thy-neighbor-and-the-habit-of-friendship\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:15:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:15:48","slug":"love-thy-neighbor-and-the-habit-of-friendship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/love-thy-neighbor-and-the-habit-of-friendship\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Love Thy Neighbor\u2019 and the Habit of Friendship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cLove thy neighbor as thyself\u201d<\/a> (Matthew 22:39). One of the few commandments Jesus gave us. It shouldn\u2019t be so hard, yet it is. The best thing to do is to simply make it a habit. But how?<\/p>\n

First, look for someone who models that behavior. Then learn from them.<\/p>\n

I practically stumbled on such a model. I was a 25-year-old actor\/singer starring in a summer stock production of West Side Story<\/em>,<\/a> playing the coveted role of Tony. All the while thinking, \u201cNo, this isn\u2019t what I want to do with my life.\u201d But then, what?<\/p>\n

Friendship in Action<\/h3>\n

The theater was in the beachside town of Santa Barbara, and there in a retirement home lived the widow of the minister who had baptized me, Mama Cropp. Almost against my will I called her up, and she invited me to lunch at the home. A free meal. Okay.<\/p>\n

There at once I saw her in action, escorting me through the dining room, pausing at different tables, introducing me to her friends<\/a> and telling them, \u201cHe\u2019s going to be on stage this summer,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ll all have to go see him.\u201d<\/p>\n

It brought back childhood memories of her at church, circulating at coffee hour among the congregation. Grabbing hands warmly, hugging. If anyone was going through difficulties she would know, letting her husband know.<\/p>\n

Compassion at Work<\/h3>\n

I figured it was just a role she was playing, the minister\u2019s wife\u2014to love thy neighbor. But now, as the two of us ate lunch, I saw that compassion at work,<\/a> one-on-one. She listened to all I was saying. My bewilderment about what I wanted to do with my life. It just tumbled out. Her good care invited it.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaring is just a bad habit with her,\u201d I joked with a mutual friend. Strike the \u201cbad\u201d from that sentence. We both knew it wasn\u2019t bad.<\/p>\n

Over a series of lunches and chats and beachside walks, I started asking her questions. Had she always been like this? Goodness, no. Not at all.<\/p>\n

Who You\u2019re Meant to Be<\/h3>\n

As our unlikely friendship grew that summer, I came to see that those good qualities were something she had worked at her entire life. By now\u2014in her mid-70s\u2014they just came naturally. With God\u2019s help she had made herself into the person she wanted to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cRick,\u201d I told myself, \u201cNow is the time to work at who you want to be.<\/a> Who you\u2019re meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

I would be insufferable if I said I succeeded. Truth to tell, I\u2019m still working at it all these years later. But now when I hear of someone going through turmoil in their life or suffering a loss, I send that email, make that phone call, sit by that hospital bed, say that prayer. Love thy neighbor.<\/p>\n

That I had the good fortune to turn myself into an editor\/writer and come to Guideposts where that sort of caring was essential is something I also credit to Mama Cropp.<\/p>\n

Love thy neighbor as thyself.<\/em> What God wants of us is exactly what we want of ourselves.<\/p>\n

Thanks for that, Mama Cropp.<\/p>\n

Read More: Three Easy Ways to Make New Habits Stick<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cLove thy neighbor as thyself\u201d (Matthew 22:39). One of the few commandments Jesus gave us. It shouldn\u2019t be so hard, yet it is. The best thing to do is to simply make it a habit. But how? First, look for someone who models that behavior. Then learn from them. I practically stumbled on such a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":30243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[172,136],"tags":[189,46,338,60,14],"ppma_author":[476],"class_list":["post-23209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-friends-and-family","category-positive-living","tag-church","tag-friends","tag-new-habits","tag-new-years","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Love Thy Neighbor\u2019 and the Habit of Friendship - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Love Thy Neighbor\u2019 and the Habit of Friendship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cLove thy neighbor as thyself\u201d (Matthew 22:39). 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