Obsessing over Kingdom

Kingdom comes up in a lot of conversations these days: the idea that part of the divine plan is for humanity to try to create God's Kingdom here on earth instead.

"Love thy neighbor as thyself" is not just a feeling but a call to action.

But if that is so, what actions should we be performing? How should this love of neighbor be being expressed?

Here are a couple of biblical stories...

A paralyzed man wanted to go to Jesus for healing. His four friends carried him there on a mat, and when they couldn't get in the door because of the crowd, they climbed up on the roof, made a hole in it, and lowered the man down through it.

A guy was mugged while on travel. He was left naked and bleeding by the side of the road. Another guy saw him, got him cleaned up, gave him a lift into town, and put him up in a hotel room for a couple of nights.

A kid wants his inheritance from his dad, and whines until his dad gives it to him, half of all his posessions. The kid leaves town and blows the whole wad partying and drinking, and ends up penniless, working as a farmhand. He's not making enough to make ends meet, and goes hungry often. He goes back to his dad. The father, instead of being angry that all the money was gone, celebrated his return and threw a party with some serious BBQ.

If only the whole Bible were so uplifting and simple. Unfortunately you really have to search hard for sections like these. Mostly the bible says stuff like

"Sorry. Too late. Enemy fire will burn you up. Swords will cut you to pieces. You'll be chewed up as if by locusts. Yes, as if by locusts--a fitting fate, for you yourselves are a locust plague. You've multiplied shops and shopkeepers-- more buyers and sellers than stars in the sky! A plague of locusts, cleaning out the neighborhood and then flying off."

Or perhaps

"On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died."

None of this really help me with my conundrums. Which is more of a "love thy neighbor" type of thing. Do I pull out my lawn and replace it with low-water plants, saving water for agriculture but possibly lowering my neighbors' property values by transforming my manicured lawn into shaggy scrub? Do I eat at El Pollo Loco, helping to keep local jobs but wasting resources by eating (inefficiently and cruelly produced) farmed poultry? Do I drive, allowing me to spent more time at work developing life-saving Giant Robots, or do I bike, helping to prevent global warming?