To Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. “This is the first and great commandment. “And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39).
Until recently, I have had a particular order of how I would prioritize this scripture. Of who was to be loved first, second and third. But before I say which is which know that the order does not diminish the importance of the other, or, vice versa. Because, you first have to understand that God is all in all.
Growing up, religion has always taught me that Yahweh God is to be first in all things. And that remains to be true but not as we have been led to understand it. As stated, earlier God is all in all. Therefore, if He truly is all in all can He really be first without being last? So, our perception of what is first and last is done away with when we really understand Yahweh’s existence. But, its not my intention to place anything before Him. Because, it is impossible to do so when you honestly love Him.
Okay. I challenge you to hear verse 38 differently or see it as a stand-alone phrase which says, “…This is the first and great commandment…” Then hear Jesus say, “And, the second…” not as prioritizing but as having the same importance. Because Jesus completes His thought with, “…is like unto it.” Meaning this commandment is just as important as the prior commandment given. Since, 1 John 4:20 says that we can not even love Yahweh if we do not first love our brother. And, how can we love our brother with all our heart, soul and mind if we don’t first love ourselves?
Now, this brings me to my thought. To love thy neighbor “AS” thyself. I have learned, it is not to love Yahweh first, my brother second and then myself. However, to truly love Yahweh and my brother the way Jesus commanded us to is to first love ourself with all our heart, with all our soul and mind. Then my brother the way we love ourselves and Yahweh remains all in all.