Love the Lord

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39 (MSG)

 We are inherently selfish. So when we read the text “Love others as well as you love yourself”, let’s face it, most of us love ourselves very well (even if it is only on the outside). In reality, we can’t love ourselves or anyone else well – well being defined as in not by the world’s standards but by God’s standards.  The only way to do this is to keep the first part of the Great Commandment. “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.”  When we do that, then and only then will we be able to love others as well as we love ourselves.

 Maybe we should memorize the text so it reads “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and only then will we be able to love others as well as we love ourselves.”

–Elaine Kapetanakis