Do You Love Your Neighbor as Yourself?

Hello ladies, thanks for taking the time to read and consider these thoughts, “Do I love my neighbor as myself?” This is a good question to ask considering Jesus said it’s the 2^nd greatest commandment.  Today I want to look at the time when a lawyer is trying to test Jesus in Luke 10.  The lawyer first asks, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” vs. 25 Jesus then asks him a question that the lawyer answers correctly, “Love God & love your neighbor as yourself.” Vs.27, but notice in verse 29 the man’s motives are showing – “Wishing to justify himself he asks, ‘Who is my neighbor?’” 

Jesus then tells us the story of the Good Samaritan. A man was traveling to Jericho from Jerusalem when he was attacked, robbed, and left “half dead”. It was the Samaritan traveling this same road, who showed mercy to the beaten man. We are told that the Samaritan felt compassion vs. 33.  He had love & kindness in his heart for this man.  He helped with his wounds, and even gave his money to pay the innkeeper. This hurt man was even overlooked by the religious leaders of the day, a priest & a Levite passed by and just left him there. Surely, they should have helped him, but they didn’t. Yet, it was a Samaritan that showed mercy.  Jesus concludes this account by asking who proved to be a neighbor? The lawyer replied correctly, “The one who showed mercy” vs. 37.  

When John and I visited Israel in 2019, I couldn’t help but think about what this situation must have been like. Was the man conscious after he was beaten, did he hear the footsteps of those walking by, did his hopes get up that someone would help him, only to be dashed when they avoided him and left him there? Ladies, I hope that we would be the one that goes and offers help and shows compassion to those in desperate situations.

Why do you think Jesus used a Samaritan to answer the question and illustrate His point? Because He knew the Jewish mindset at the time.  They needed to know that God cared for others, not just the Jews.  Just a little history on Samaritans, these were once Jews, but married into other ethnic groups after the invasion from Assyria & lived in Samaria, a neighboring region to Israel.  God wasn’t looking down on the Samaritans, even though the Jews did. He was using them as an example of how to show mercy.  He held them up as a role model, “Go and do the same” vs. 37 There is no place for prejudice in the Lord’s church, due to who our parents are, or our ethnicity. We are all created in the image of God. Let me encourage you to search your heart and make sure you don’t have prejudices inside.

Let’s go back to the Old Testament to Numbers 12. “Then Miriam & Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married” vs. 1. The Lord wasn’t displeased with Moses’ marriage, He would have let that be known. The inferred conclusion is that Miriam and Aaron had prejudice in their hearts for Moses taking a wife from Cush (Kush). You see, Cush is in Africa, where modern day Sudan is, and people from this region have very dark skin. The Lord struck Miriam with leprosy vs. 10 for speaking against Moses and his marriage. Moses was God’s spokesman, something Miriam knew well.  Thankfully, Miriam was healed after 7 days, due to Moses’ humility and mercy. That account certainly makes me think about how I view people and treat them.

Another aspect of loving our neighbors as ourselves is having no personal favoritism. In James 2, we see this happening when Christians meet.  “For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring & dressed in fine clothes, & there also comes a poor man in dirty clothes, & you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes” Vs. 2,3.  These Christians are making judgments based on how people looked and how much money they appeared to have.  The Holy Spirit says that we are “Judges with evil motives” if we show this kind of favoritism vs. 4. Pretty strong judgment from God if we do this.  We can see this character flaw so clearly looking at others’ lives, but can we see it in our life? Good question to ask.  If we show favoritism, we are not loving our neighbor as ourselves, we are elevating ourselves above another due to their status or lack of wealth.

Think about Isaac and Rebekah having favorites among their 2 sons, Jacob & Esau (Gen. 25:28). Think about Jacob having a favorite son, Joseph, and only giving him a coat of many colors. What came about because of favoritism in these families? Lies, deceit, separation, murderous threats, attempted murder, slavery, despair & heartbreak. Please, if you are a mother or a grandma or an auntie, don’t show favoritism, it’s just wrong!

The church at Las Vegas is in an older part of the city, and we see a fair number of vacant buildings, homelessness, crime, and poverty here.  We are a group of many ethnicities, many levels of wealth or lack thereof, and it is a welcoming fellowship. One that helps others without judgment, and cares about each other. We aren’t perfect, but caring for others is a trademark, and I am thankful to be a part of this fellowship that shows love to their neighbors.

There is lots of talk about grace vs. law at times, and I am thankful to read this verse in Gal.5. “For the whole Law is fulfilled in the statement, ‘You, shall love your neighbor as yourself’” vs. 14.  When we love our neighbors who are different from us without prejudice, without personal favoritism, without considering their wealth, we have fulfilled the Law. That’s powerful.

Let me add one more thought. Today we hear a lot about self-esteem or self-care. Well, to truly love our neighbor, we must love ourselves. Now, I am not talking about having an over inflated view of yourself, but a humble acknowledgment of who I am and how God sees me.  Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”.  We need to understand that we are a daughter of the King, that we are worthwhile, and valuable to our Creator, then we can go out there and love others and obey the 2^nd greatest commandment.