Since becoming unemployed, my dad has turned to teaching guitar lessons to try to pay the bills. He has a website and is well known around town for being a good guitar teacher. He keeps a pretty good number of students, around 40 every week.
Last week, though, he got a phone call from somebody wanting to get lessons for her daughter. She said her daughter was kind of shy, and wanted to take with her friend. Dad said that wouldn't be a problem, but he would have to charge for both students. The lady said that wouldn't be a problem, and that she had looked him up on the internet. After seeing his website, she asked around town to see what experience people have had with taking lessons from him. She later found out that he lives right next door to her. Yes, that's right. His next door neighbor, who has lived there for probably three years, has never met him.
This prompted a conversation between me and my dad. How sad it is that in today's society, we often times consider our friendships to be maintained online. Think about it. When was the last time you had your next door neighbor over for dinner? Maybe you were cooking out one Saturday afternoon and invited them to come over and enjoy a hamburger? Anyone?
Point is, we have become a people that is abnormally ignorant to the things and people around us. Don't get me wrong. I think Facebook and Twitter have their places. These are great things for keeping up with old friends that have moved away and such as that. I just think we need to make more of an effort to get out and get to know the people around us. Put the iPhone or BlackBerry down. Instead of talking to someone on Facebook, try stopping by their house. There is nothing wrong with sitting down in the living room and talking. Maybe have some friends over to watch a ball game. That ends up being much cheaper than going to the local sports bar, and you can enjoy it all from the comfort of your own home.
I'd like to touch on one more thing. Don't be afraid to make new friends. We teach this to our children as they go to school, so why are we so afraid to do this as adults? Lora and I are currently looking for a new church home. We have been attending the church I grew up in, Carterville Baptist Church, for a few weeks now. I've been very comfortable there since coming back, but she is still not very comfortable. Here's why. She doesn't know anybody there, with the exception of a few people on the ministry staff. I'm not pointing anybody out for being at fault. In reality it's probably nobody's fault. I do, however, think that sometimes we, as adults, need to make more of an effort to make new friends, try to fit in, and/or make new people feel welcome. This is especially true in our churches today. I cannot tell you how many times I've walked into a church and felt a chill come over my body.... not because of the temperature in the room, but because the people are so cold. I didn't feel welcome at all, yet because I felt like I wanted to be in church... I kept going. Most people are not going to do that, though. Most people won't come back if they don't feel welcome.
The Bible commands us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.... I think it is just as important to know your neighbor, so you can love them as The Bible says.
