Circles of Love

In a recent interview on Fox News, Vice President J.D. Vance said the following:

But there’s this old school—and I think it’s a very Christian concept, by the way—that 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 and prioritize the rest of the world. A lot of the far left has completely inverted that.[1]

Is Mr. Vance right? Is that biblical? Is it Christian? I think not.

The second greatest commandment is: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[2] But who is my “neighbor”? When Jesus was asked that question, he told the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which a Samaritan comes to the aid of a robbed and injured Jew.[3]

To really appreciate that parable, we need to remember that the Jews and Samaritans hated each other, for reasons I have explained in a previous blog entry. So a “neighbor” is certainly not limited to people we know, or people in our own community, or even people we like. Instead, our “neighbor” is anyone who needs our help. A “neighbor” could be a family member, or a fellow countryman, or a person halfway around the world—whoever needs our help.

Jesus’ parable about the sheep and the goats conveys a similar message.[4] In that parable, as Jesus is judging the world, he commends those who fed, clothed, and visited those who were in need, saying, “to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.”[5] Then Jesus condemns those who failed to show similar compassion toward their fellow human beings, adding, “to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either.”[6]

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he famously said that we should “love your enemies.”[7] He then went on to explain: “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same?”[8]

Luke 6:32-34 is similar:

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.

Vice President Vance’s point seems to be that we should take care of those we care about, and then if we have any resources left, we can help the people we don’t care about. But that would make us like the unbelievers, for don’t they do that much? And wouldn’t it also give us an easy excuse for not helping those we don’t care about?

We should be better. We should be more like God, who “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”[9] We should be more like Jesus, who died for all of us.

In fairness, at times Jesus did appear to limit his ministry to the Jews, such as when he sent out the Twelve.[10] Yet he also went to Gentile areas, such as Decapolis, Bethsaida, and Perea, where he taught and healed many. After his death, his followers went all over the Roman Empire and beyond, spreading the gospel to all who would listen.

It’s only natural to want to focus our help on those we care about. It’s normal. It’s human. But I’m not convinced it’s what Jesus would want us to do. I believe he would want us to help whoever needs our help, just like the Good Samaritan did.

[1]. Transcribed from an interview on FoxNews, as found in a post on X by Jack Posobiec, at https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1884795801739710691

[2], Matthew 22:39; see also Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 19:19, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27

[3]. Luke 10:25-37

[4]. Luke 25:31-46

[5]. Luke 25:40

[6]. Luke 25:45

[7]. Matthew 5:44; see also Luke 6:27

[8]. Matthew 5:46-47

[9]. Matthew 5:45

[10]. See Matthew 10:5-6.