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Love Your Neighbor
Yesterday Pastor spoke on the Ten Commandments. In his conclusion he mentioned Matthew 22:37-39, where Jesus sums up the Ten Commandments as, “love the Lord thy God” and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Well, I found myself thinking about what it meant to “love your neighbor as yourself.” As I thought about it, I thought about all the things I do for myself because I love myself… Hmm, does that sound self centered or selfish???? That certainly is not my intention, but the truth of the matter is that we do love ourselves and there are certain things that we do as a result of this love. Below is a list of some of the things that I do because I love myself:
- Food: because I love myself I make sure that I have food.
- Shelter: I ensure that my mortgage gets paid so that I (and my family) can have a place to live.
- Clothing: Because I love myself I make sure that I have clothing (this could also be considered a service to those around me as no one should ever have to see me naked except for my doctor and my wife, and they both asked for it.)
- Employment: because I love myself I do all I can to ensure that I maintain employment.
- Transportation: Because I love myself I make sure that I have transportation so that I can get to the aforementioned employment.
This is just a small list of the things that I do because I love myself. So, how does this relate to loving my neighbor as myself. I imagine that many of you have already made this connection. So if I love my neighbor as myself, then anything that I do because I love myself, I should also love my neighbor enough to do for them. So, if I ensure that I have food to eat, then I should also ensure that my neighbors don’t go hungry. If I ensure that I have shelter, then I should ensure that my neighbor has shelter. If I, well you get the idea.
So, the question I end up asking myself is, “Am I loving my neighbor as I love myself.” “Am I showing the same level of love for my neighbors that I do for myself.” “Am I as concerned for making sure that my neighbor has the things they need as I am for myself?”
If I am being honest with myself then I would have to say no to all these questions. This is something that I need to work on. I think that this is also an area in which our churches are failing badly.
So, how would you answer the question, “Are you loving your neighbor as yourself?”
June 10, 2008 at 07:40
Jesus felt so strongly about this that he speaks to this in Matthew 25.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
For those that are willing to love their neighbor; give them something to eat, give them something to drink, invite them in, cloth them, care for them and visit them. The King will say to them; 34…’Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For those that aren’t willing to love their neighbor….He will say, 41….’Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
We probably don’t teach this enough….if we are to truly receive the fullness of God’s love for us, we MUST truly love others….if we are to truly receive the fullness of God’s forgiveness, we MUST truly forgive others.
June 10, 2008 at 14:36
This is one of my favorite passages and it speaks to me very deeply. It is this passage that initially sparked the fire inside of me that drives me into ministry. It is also this passage that continues to motivate me in that direction. Thank you for pointing out the connection between this passage and the Great commandment. This passage illustrates how we are to “love our neighbor as ourselves” and confirms what I was saying.
While I am very fond of this passage, it did not come to mind when I was making this original post. I don’t guess there is any better confirmation then the very words of Jesus.
You are completely right that we must truly LOVE others. Even as Christians we tend to forget this. I feel for any Christian that thinks that love is simply a matter of not being mean to people. We love ourselves more then that and we love our family and friends more then that, but Jesus is telling us that we should love everyone this way, not just those close to us.