Brotherly Kindness

We are continuing our series of thoughts on, "How to Guarantee a Productive and Effective Life" from II Peter 1:5-11. Verse seven tells us to add to your godliness, brotherly kindness. The word used here is phileo. This is the term used in the transliteration of the city of Philadelphia. You may recall that this city is known as the "city of brotherly love". This quality is best understood in the passage often referred to as the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.
There are three lifestyles in this world:
1. What is yours is mine and all I have to do is take it. This lifestyle is represented by the robbers who beat the traveler and left him half dead by the side of the road. Those who exhibit this lifestyle are takers and never givers.
2. What is yours is yours and what is mine is mine and never shall the two meet. The priest and the Levite who came by where the traveler lay but rationalized that they could not be bothered. Admittedly, they had some good reasons not to get involved. If they had touched the wounded man and he had died they would be unclean and have to go through a purification process before they could resume their religious duties. Do you know the names of your closest neighbors and what really makes them tick?
3. What is mine is yours and all you have to do is need it. The Samaritan represented this lifestyle. He went out of his way to help a stranger, not because of what he was hoping to get out of it, but just because the traveler needed him. Jesus asked the lawyer who was neighbor to the traveler and his reply was the Samaritan. Do you go out of your way to help others?