He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” Matthew 22:37-40 HCSB
An expert in law was trying to test Jesus by asking which of the Ten Commandments was the greatest command? If you read the 10 commandments in Exodus 20, you will see that the first speak to our relationship with God while the last six tell us how to treat others. Jesus summed the first four up by saying we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. He summed up the last six by saying we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Let’s talk about why He would say, ” as we love ourselves.” I think this is obvious. As human beings most of us love ourselves a great deal. The problem comes when we love only ourselves. The problem comes when we don’t love others as we love ourselves.
The Bible mentions this in numerous passages. Allow me to share a few with you. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” 2 Timothy 3:2-4 warns us that in the last days men will be lovers of self, proud, arrogant, heartless. In other words, they will look only to their own interests.
We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:24, “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” James 3:16 tells us that where jealous and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Romans 2:8 warns that for, “Those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”
Jesus told us to love others as we love ourselves because He knows we love ourselves a great deal. He knows we worry about our own welfare. But this is not how we are supposed to live. We are not supposed to worry about ourselves. We are supposed to have compassion for others.
Could you just imagine if Jesus had considered himself more important than us? We would all be doomed to spend eternity in hell. Jesus didn’t want to go to the cross to save miserable sinners like you and me. He prayed to God to remove that cup from Him, but He agreed to do God’s will (Matthew 26:39). Thank God Jesus considers us more important than he considers Himself.
Are you so worried about you that you have little time to even realize or consider the needs of others? When was the last time you reached out to someone else? When was the last time you helped someone in need?
God created us to be in fellowship with Him. In order to do so, we must put Him first. We must put others second and above our wants and needs. We must be last. This life is temporary. It will be gone before you know it, but heaven or hell is forever.
Focusing on ourselves causes us to turn inward. It causes us to get off balance. We were created to be in fellowship with Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:4 tells us God comforts us in our affliction, not because we are so awesome, but so we can comfort others.
If it’s all about you, I beg of you to reconsider. Serve Him by helping others. Put God first. If you do so, you will want to help others. Don’t worry about yourself because God will take good care of you.
Have a great day!