On Loving One's Neighbor

[34] But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
[35] Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
[36] Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
[37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
[38] This is the first and great commandment.
[39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
[40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:34-40

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Hi friends. Before I start on this topic I feel the need to say that I am one huge hypocrite, and that I always fall short of my own standards and rarely live up to the lofty subject matter I tend to expound. I made a vow to myself some time back (shortly after joining this site, as a matter of fact) to limit my online transactions to positive and measured speech to counteract the free-for-all I was seeing everywhere, and am happiest when aiming for excellence-- even if I fall short. All that to say that if I firmly adhere to the commandment “Love Thy Neighbor” in philosophy but on occasion forget to honor this belief, it’s better this way in my mind than to live by the philosophy that people are worse than animals or crazy or moronic and that human excellence is the exception rather than the rule. And I can honestly say that I love people. I love YOU

Unfortunately, my mind does get polluted by unsubstantiated biases against people. Dostoevsky captured the subject very well in this excerpt from The Brothers Karamazov, his cynical side represented by the brother Ivan’s dark philosophy:

"I must make you one confession," Ivan began. "I could never understand how one can love one's neighbors. It's just one's neighbors, to my mind, that one can't love, though one might love those at a distance. ... Beggars, especially genteel beggars, ought never to show themselves, but to ask for charity through the newspapers. One can love one's neighbors in the abstract, or even at a distance, but at close quarters it's almost impossible."

The subject of what it really means to “love thy neighbor” came to mind the other day when I was driving in awful traffic after having driven over 7 hours that day (I drove a group of students to an adjacent city in the company van that day and it was the most stressful day I’d had in a long time). I looked at a neighboring driver and took an instant dislike to him-- awful, I know. Then I wondered at my split-second judgement of someone that I did not know and realized that implementing God’s commandment to LOVE one’s neighbor is a very freeing thing!

I don’t HAVE to judge whether or not I “like” someone to know I have to love them. I try to love each individual as they were intended as a manifestation of God’s love. I realize that every living being on this earth has just as much a right to be here and enjoy its (his/her) experience here as I do. Sorry if this is already self-evident to you, but it does not seem as if most of us treat each other according to this truth as much as we should.
To love someone does not mean to tolerate everything he/she does, does not mean that we must align every thought, but it does take a certain perspective, approach, and show of respect (even--and ESPECIALLY--if respect is not being directed back at us).

I do find that it is easy to love most (the most horrendous people are too hard to love-- I guess pity is the best I can do for the Taliban leaders in Pakistan who plan school attacks, the arms dealers, the warlord and lordettes, etc) simply by understanding that each one of us has had a rich experience which has shaped our thoughts and characters and imagining each person as the baby they once were basking in a mother’s love.

The following is one of the most powerful quotes from the Bible. It points out how easy it is to love those who love you- that even very wicked people (tax collectors, lol) do that.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48

Thanks for reading, friends! What are your thoughts on loving one's neighbor? Is this a goal of yours and have you succeeded in manifesting God's love?

A neighbor was defined as anyone's home you could travel to from sun up until sun down
Put that in your pipe and smoke it...
Love thy neighbor takes on a whole new meaning doesn't it ?

a reply to: Gothmog

I love it. All inclusive.

a reply to: zosimov

On Loving One's Neighbor

Very noble aspirations...

but it's wise to keep in mind another biblical shibboleth..."no good deed goes unpunished"

my God, did I actually get the opportunity to use the word "shibboleth?"

a reply to: olaru12



Okay this definitely made me chuckle.



Have a good one, olaru! Thanks for reading!

The term love thy neighbor probably doesn't have anything to do with loving the guy next door. Most likely there is a hidden esoteric explanation. Like embracing your other side or dark/light side. "neighbor" maybe?

a reply to: CosmicAwakening

I do take this quote literally-- that we are meant to actively love one another.

I like Gothmog's definition of neighbor to include any and all within one's vicinity (now the whole world is within one's reach).

But I do agree with you that most Biblical edicts have deeper meaning as well.

Beautifully written zosimov.

It’s so nice to read that someone contemplates the scriptures and takes them seriously !

I too, often fall short of this commandment... but disagreeing with someone doesn’t mean you don’t love them in a humanitarian way.

a reply to: Sheye

Thank you for reading Sheye. So much in the media, national conversation, etc, is bent on dehuminizing "the other."

Sometimes it's important to realize the effect the (unintended or deliberate?) assault on humanity is taking.

originally posted by: olaru12
but it's wise to keep in mind another biblical shibboleth..."no good deed goes unpunished"

Not Biblical, fortunately. And a shibboleth is a pronunciation test (Judges ch12 vv5-6).

originally posted by: DISRAELI

originally posted by: olaru12
but it's wise to keep in mind another biblical shibboleth..."no good deed goes unpunished"

Not Biblical, fortunately. And a shibboleth is a pronunciation test (Judges ch12 vv5-6).

You're correct of course! I should know better than to use humor and sarcasm among zealots and the habitué.

did I just use the word..."habitue'"....I don't even know what it means!!!

originally posted by: zosimov
a reply to: Sheye

Thank you for reading Sheye. So much in the media, national conversation, etc, is bent on dehuminizing "the other."

Sometimes it's important to realize the effect the (unintended or deliberate?) assault on humanity is taking.

Hello dear Zos! Human beings are not perfect, but we can try and do the best that we can. Spread your love with a smile, a kind word or deed etc. and watch as a ripple affect takes place and spreads outward. People need more love and kindness in this world.

originally posted by: Night Star
Spread your love with a smile, a kind word or deed etc. and watch as a ripple affect takes place and spreads outward. People need more love and kindness in this world.

Very simple, wise, lovely approach. Thank you Night Star!

originally posted by: zosimov

originally posted by: Night Star
Spread your love with a smile, a kind word or deed etc. and watch as a ripple affect takes place and spreads outward. People need more love and kindness in this world.

Very simple, wise, lovely approach. Thank you Night Star!

Hugs! My philosophy is that it is the simple things in life that matter most.

a reply to: zosimov

damn, what a beautiful message. That meshes closely to my philosophy as well except I do it for purely selfish reasons, for the karma. I could care less if it is reciprocated. What others decide to do with the given kindness and respect is none of my concern. As other thread pointed out a while back, you never know what the other humans are going through that surround your reality. I think I will try and learn from you that instead of simply ignoring the #holes and jerks, it is time to piss them off by giving them some love.

Glorious.

a reply to: zosimov

Sounds beautiful. Unfortunate not very often achieved in practice. Like one OT prophet says, the heart is desperately wicked. Because we live in a flesh body or of love of money or some other reasons, nearly all humans are a vile, despicable bunch. Think of all humans born since the world began. Millions and millions of them. At the end there is a first resurrection of only 144,000. Very few manage to fulfill these two commandments. And for those that believe in the rapture, this is the rapture. Very few will be there, everyone else has to wait for the general resurrection.

So what are we to do? Keep trying. This post is a good thing. It is important for us to encourage one another. Be as loving as possible, not many are perfect. God help us all.

originally posted by: Gothmog
A neighbor was defined as anyone's home you could travel to from sun up until sun down
Put that in your pipe and smoke it...
Love thy neighbor takes on a whole new meaning doesn't it ?

Actually....Jesus used the parable of the Good Samaritan to define who was a neighbor. So it actually does mean people other than your travel-distance neighbors. He made that clear several times.

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: zosimov

On Loving One's Neighbor

Very noble aspirations...

but it's wise to keep in mind another biblical shibboleth..."no good deed goes unpunished"

my God, did I actually get the opportunity to use the word "shibboleth?"

Yes....but it's not up to us to do the punishing. That's up to God.

originally posted by: CosmicAwakening
The term love thy neighbor probably doesn't have anything to do with loving the guy next door. Most likely there is a hidden esoteric explanation. Like embracing your other side or dark/light side. "neighbor" maybe?

Good theory, but I really don't think Jesus wants us to embrace our dark side. Ever.

I always like to see who actually knows their gospels with this issue..

Who is actually your neighbor?

at least as far as Jesus defines it... most think is "everyone"

But that isn't the case