This chasm is quite ironic because it represents the wall that separated the two men during their lives. The rich man lived in affluence and separated himself with this wall so that Lazarus could not get into his estate and receive any food to relieve his hunger. Due to the sin of not helping his neighbor, the rich man now remains in hell, outside of the "walls" to the kingdom of heaven. Thus, the story highlights the consequences of neglecting our neighbors, while emphasizing the fact that we are all obligated to help those that are deprived like Lazarus.
In light of the fact that we are responsible for helping our neighbors, the Bible also clarifies that our "neighbors" are not simply the people that we live near. James 2:1 challenges all Christians by saying, "As believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism." In this second chapter, James stresses the fact that we must act consistently and kindly towards any person and not favor the rich or the poor. He states that simply helping certain kinds of people is not enough, because "whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it" (James 2:10). Thus, if we are going to follow the wishes of God and help the needy, we must not "stumble" if faced with a poor person whom we are not familiar with. When the Bible mandates that we aid our neighbors, we are actually called to help any of God's children we encounter, because we must not show favoritism to some people, lest we would be sinning on an equal level of the rich man in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. In addition, James" message is coherent with the actions and beliefs of Jesus Christ. Throughout his lifetime, Jesus helped all of the people that he encountered without showing favor towards a particular group. Since Jesus is the ultimate role model sent directly from God, we must also act without favoritism.
