Withhold not good from those to whom it is due [its rightful owners], when it is in the power of your hand to do it. Proverbs 3:27 AMP
Some time ago, God helped me see that when it came to my fellow man, instead of seeing them as my brother,” I treated them like “just another.” My attitude could be characterized as “that ain’t my problem.”

Then something happens like your wife and your little ones have a flat on the highway and you are several hours away. You’ve got insurance, you’ve got AAA, but you have no control over the situation.

Will anybody stop to check on her? What kind of “anybody” will that anybody be? How will the service people treat my precious cargo in my absence? All of a sudden, you find yourself thinking and praying really hard about your “brother.”

Today’s Proverb is a bit stiff and sobering. But I think it’s a tad more digestible contextually in the more laid back Message translation:

Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person. Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time” or “Try me tomorrow” when the money’s right there in your pocket. Proverbs 3:27-28 The Message

My hands, our hands, are God’s hands for our neighbors, our brothers, and our fellow man. From time to time on this journey, even the king’s carriage breaks down. So may we be found being neighborly to the brother, who in God’s eyes, is not just “another.” He is a major part of the story.