Yourself

I’ve always thought that a concept repeated in the Bible by different writers at different times are things God really wants us to know and live by. With that in mind, here are several repetitive verses from the time of Moses to Jesus’ disciples:

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18 KJV)

But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19:34 KJV)

Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Matthew 19:19 KJV)

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Matthew 22:39 KJV)

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:31 KJV)

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neihbour as thyself. (Luke 10:27 KJV)

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Romans 13:9 KJV)

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Galatians 5:14 KJV)

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: (James 2:8 KJV)

If there’s any question about who our neighbors might be, take time to read Luke 10:30-37 when Jesus answered the question:

But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? (Luke 10:29 KJV)

This is second only to loving God and on these two commandments rest the remainder of laws.

The final question would be, how do we look at ourselves? Except for where we would like to be better, are we satisfied with what we are, where we are and what we are doing? There would be some regrets for past actions, but we don’t live there any more. Dwelling on them has little value once we’ve learned from our errors.

Instead, we should look to our neighbor’s needs:

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:40 KJV)

Take a moment to give thanks for the neighbors God has placed in our lives. How we treat them determines our closeness to God's plans.