There is a common saying that we are all neighbor to ourselves. The
body of teaching on goodwill, however, shows how we should under-
stand this. We are all supposed to provide ourselves with the necessities
of life, such as food, clothing, a place to live, and many other things that
are required by the civic life in which we participate. And we provide
these things not only for ourselves but also for our loved ones, not only
for the present but also for the future. If we do not provide ourselves
with the necessities of life, we are in no state to practice goodwill,
because we lack everything.
How we are to be neighbors to ourselves, however, can be shown
through the following analogy: We should all provide our bodies with
food. This has to come first, but the goal is to have a sound mind in a
sound body. We also ought to provide our mind with its food, that is,
things that build intelligence and judgment; but the goal is to be in a
state in which we can serve our fellow citizens, our community, our
country, the church, and therefore the Lord. People who pursue this goal
are providing well for themselves to eternity.
These points make clear what is primary from the standpoint of time
and what is primary from the standpoint of purpose. What is primary
from the standpoint of purpose is the true overall goal.
This situation is like people building a house. They have to lay the
foundation first, but the foundation is for the house, and the house is for
living in. People who hold being neighbors to themselves as their first
and foremost objective are like people whose main purpose is building
the foundation rather than living in the house. Yet living in the house is
the primary and ultimate purpose overall; the house and its foundation
are only a means to an end.
Now I need to say what it is to love our neighbor. Loving our neigh- 407
bor is intending and doing good not only to neighbors, friends, and
good people but also to strangers, enemies, and evil people. But we exer-
cise goodwill in our dealings with the latter in different ways than we do
in our dealings with the former. We exercise goodwill in our dealings
with our neighbors and friends by benefiting them directly. We exercise
goodwill in our dealings with our enemies and evil people by benefiting
them indirectly through our warnings, corrective action, punishments,
and therefore efforts to improve them.
This could be illustrated as follows. Judges who punish wrongdoers
because it is the just and legal thing to do have love for their neighbor. By
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