How to Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird by Amy Lively

Author:Amy Lively [Lively, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL012100, REL030000, Christian women, Love—Religious aspects—Christianity
ISBN: 9781441228543
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2015-03-27T00:00:00+00:00

6

It’s All Spiritual

There is a mountain in the middle of my Midwestern town. Surrounded by gently rolling hills and flat-as-a-pancake farmland, the sandstone face of Mount Pleasant juts 250 feet in the air to dominate our skyline. You’re rewarded with panoramic views of the city and picturesque county fairgrounds when you huff and puff your way to the top—on a clear day, you can even catch a glimpse of the state capital’s skyline some thirty miles away.

The abundance of sandstone and natural gas in the area attracted glass manufacturers as far back as 1890, when the first glass factory hired its first worker. Today, the glass factory is the second-largest private sector employer in the city.

Or it was. Before it closed.

They didn’t officially “close,” but the parent company furloughed almost all of the 1,140 local employees for what they said would be a three- or four-week shutdown to cut costs and reduce inventory. The employees didn’t have a few months to plan for a few weeks without income. They didn’t have a plant-closing party to say good-bye to their friends and co-workers. They didn’t know this was coming, and they don’t know when it will end. As I write, six weeks have passed. A smaller plant in a neighboring state has been called back to work, as have a few hundred local employees here—but there was also some scary paperwork filed with the SEC that warned of a potential permanent shutdown. It’s an unresolved and unsettling situation for many families, some of whom have worked there for generations and depend on the factory for more than one wage earner in their household.

Thankfully, my family is unaffected. We just live here. We don’t work there. I know a few people who worked there many years ago, but none of my friends work there now. I won’t feel much of a pinch from $875,000 in lost tax revenue for my city each year. I can take a detour around the big, ugly environmental disaster in the heart of town if the factory shuts down for good. The 33 percent increase in unemployment in my county wouldn’t affect me; it only affects my neighbors.

My neighbors . . . my neighbors . . . wait a minute, didn’t Jesus say something about loving our neighbors?

Of course He did, and that is why problems like this one affect us all. These aren’t just economic problems. They aren’t just environmental problems. They aren’t public affairs. They are intensely personal affairs that are sucking the life out of individuals, families, and entire neighborhoods.

My little city stepped up in a big way. Task forces were formed to quickly match people with financial assistance, food, and medical care. Employees could show their badges and get discounts on pizza, haircuts, and even dog grooming at sympathetic businesses. Grassroots groups collected diapers, toiletries, and cleaning supplies—items in short supply at food pantries—and delivered them to affected families. Facebook groups popped up where people could post special needs—a pair of pants to wear to graduation, infant formula.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.