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Feb 12
2010
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Love my neighbor like myself, or above myself?Posted by Jae in Untagged |
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"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
- Philippians 2:3-4
Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
- Matthew 22:37-39
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In terms of loving my neighbor,
it is often more persuasive to think of putting others above myself
rather than putting them on equal grounds.
Because when I need to love the other as I love myself,
but there is only one piece of bread at a certain moment of hunger,
I would much rather consume it than give it away to my brother.
Even as I know the code of religion that states I should care for another as I care for myself.
If we are equally hungry,
I will default to my stomach as opposed to his.
I can more easily give it away when I consider my neighbor MORE important than I,
and that I am LESS important at that moment.
It is not that he is more deserving of a particular care than I,
but it is Christ-centered humility that spurs me to place his needs above my own,
simply in obedience to God's command.
So if we are in a cabin in the dead of winter,
and there is only one sleeping bag,
(because he forgot to bring one)
it means to either share it together,
or give it to him.
When we discover that we might have to give up something of our own,
our self-preservation instinct kicks in most of the time:
Why should I let him be warm, when I will be cold or less warm?
Why should I give it to him, when it is my possession and not his?
Why should I even share it, when that means I will be less warm?
Why should I show grace, when he showed ignorance in forgetting an obvious necessity?
Essentially it comes down to:
Why should I care for him, when I have myself to care for first?
And in other words:
Why should I love my neighbor as myself?
And, furthermore:
Why should I consider him better than me?
There is no real good reason when you think of it.
It is just thinking in the way Christ thought.
In fact,
many others on the outside have thought the same way.
CS Lewis says that most ALL religions (or even the basic law of human nature)
establish that being selfish is frowned upon,
and that thinking of others is highly regarded.
Aside from all the benefits being selfless may bring us,
and aside from it making us bigger hearted people and
here and then,
give us a warm fuzzy feeling that we are good people,
the act of loving others before we love ourselves
is simply a response to God's command.
It is something God wants,
regardless of whether we completely understand why at the moment.
To love God
means to obey him.
To obey him
means to love others,
even if it means it will bring us discomfort.
We should have known this when he said
"take up your cross and follow me,"
because, after all,
the cross is not the most comfortable thing in the world.
- Philippians 2:3-4
Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
- Matthew 22:37-39
------------------------------------------
In terms of loving my neighbor,
it is often more persuasive to think of putting others above myself
rather than putting them on equal grounds.
Because when I need to love the other as I love myself,
but there is only one piece of bread at a certain moment of hunger,
I would much rather consume it than give it away to my brother.
Even as I know the code of religion that states I should care for another as I care for myself.
If we are equally hungry,
I will default to my stomach as opposed to his.
I can more easily give it away when I consider my neighbor MORE important than I,
and that I am LESS important at that moment.
It is not that he is more deserving of a particular care than I,
but it is Christ-centered humility that spurs me to place his needs above my own,
simply in obedience to God's command.
So if we are in a cabin in the dead of winter,
and there is only one sleeping bag,
(because he forgot to bring one)
it means to either share it together,
or give it to him.
When we discover that we might have to give up something of our own,
our self-preservation instinct kicks in most of the time:
Why should I let him be warm, when I will be cold or less warm?
Why should I give it to him, when it is my possession and not his?
Why should I even share it, when that means I will be less warm?
Why should I show grace, when he showed ignorance in forgetting an obvious necessity?
Essentially it comes down to:
Why should I care for him, when I have myself to care for first?
And in other words:
Why should I love my neighbor as myself?
And, furthermore:
Why should I consider him better than me?
There is no real good reason when you think of it.
It is just thinking in the way Christ thought.
In fact,
many others on the outside have thought the same way.
CS Lewis says that most ALL religions (or even the basic law of human nature)
establish that being selfish is frowned upon,
and that thinking of others is highly regarded.
Aside from all the benefits being selfless may bring us,
and aside from it making us bigger hearted people and
here and then,
give us a warm fuzzy feeling that we are good people,
the act of loving others before we love ourselves
is simply a response to God's command.
It is something God wants,
regardless of whether we completely understand why at the moment.
To love God
means to obey him.
To obey him
means to love others,
even if it means it will bring us discomfort.
We should have known this when he said
"take up your cross and follow me,"
because, after all,
the cross is not the most comfortable thing in the world.
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Comments (1)
FoundConviction wrote on February 12, 2010
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