Love Your Neighbor (3-min. read)

 

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 © Copyright   |   Adele M. Gill

 

One day, a friend of mine was talking with her husband about something, and they began to argue about who was right. He thought he was right, and she thought she was. The more they bickered, the louder it became, until they were in a full-blown argument. The more heated things became, the more each one dug in and was sure they were right, and the other was wrong. The conversation ended with them no longer talking to each other, and sadly, the silence between them lasted for 2 days. After that, they realized they were both wrong for letting things get so out of control, and apologized to each other for letting their conversation evolve to that point. They then decided to put aside their differences, and agreed to disagree.

Need to Be Right?

This situation begs the question: how are believing Christians to deal with challenging discussions such as this when they know they are right, or feel the need to be right? The most basic of all Christian teachings by Jesus surrounds loving one another. We are all called to love all people no matter what, in accordance with the first of the 10 Commandments. Jesus also told us in His own words the same thing. We are to love and serve God above all, as written in Mark 12:28-31:

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this… Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Yes—we are only human and no one agrees fully with others at all times. Sometimes we believe we are right when the other person insists they are. But the question is this: Do we really need to always be right when we are striving to live a faith-filled Christian life?  The answer is a resounding “no.” Do we need to try to love and be loving to everyone all the time? The answer is “Yes!”

Put Aside Pride

When you strive to live a good Christian life, you need to put aside your pride at times to keep peace and avoid conflict. The more we do this, the easier it gets. It becomes far less important to be prideful and right all the time, when we love one another as Jesus loves us. We are not called to be love just some people, the lovable, and those who agree with us. Whether they think like us, look like us, or act like us doesn’t matter. We are called to love all people. This is clear in the New Testament where Jesus tells us in His own words:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34-35

Jesus gave us a mandate and a road map, so we would know how to love everyone. He essentially told us to take the high road; to love God first and foremost with all our heart and soul. Secondly, we are to love one another and treat others as we want to be treated–no matter what.  Actually, loving others is one of the main ways that we show our love for, and to, God. You may be wondering how we can possibly love and live in peace with all people at all times, but as usual, the answer is easily found in Holy Scripture, God’s Word. It is written in 2 Corinthians 13:11:

“Strive for full restoration [forgiveness], encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”

 

Strive for Kindness & Peace

When we can forgive and work towards peace in our personal relationships, we honor God through loving others. That means we should always try to give people a pass. Give them grace. Everyone is fighting a battle we know nothing about. So be loving and kind always. Imagine how different our country, this world would be if we treated each other with respect and kindness, loved more fully, and treated others as we wanted to be treated? Scripture tells us:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 12:31

When we stir up anger or give way to disharmony, even discord, we are selfishly stepping away from Jesus, and going against His mandate to love one another.  So how can we take the first step to avoiding the pitfall of being unkind and unloving? Here is a powerful Bible verse written in the Old Testament that answers that question. It gives us some very practical, age-old advice about keeping peace:

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Proverbs 15:1

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About the Author

Adele M. Gill is a retired RN, Chaplain, freelance writer, award winning author of 6 books, and a recipient of the Positive Change Podcast Award https://theinspirationcafeblog.net. She is also the author of The Inspiration Café Blog. Adele may be reached via email at: adelemgill@gmail.com.