We are always looking to reduce things to the simplest and easiest form. We want the main points and Cliff Notes. We want to do that one action that will give us the greatest return on investment. Maybe that is why a teacher of the law asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. Instead of hundreds of rules and regulations, if he followed this most important commandment, the scales would tip in his favor. Jesus answered that the greatest commandment is: “Love God and Love your Neighbor” (Mark 12:29-31). Simple right?
Walter Brueggemann said that, “One of the misfortunes in the long history of the church is that we have mistakenly separated love of God from love of neighbor and always they are held together in prophetic poetry. Covenant members who practice justice and righteousness are to be active advocates for the vulnerable and the marginalized and people without resources. And that then becomes the way to act out and exhibit one’s love of God.”
The love that I have available for others are the left over bits
The ironic thing is that even when I separate the two, I cannot do either of them very well. I fail to love God with most of my being, let alone my whole being. I rather spend time watching my favorite tv show than sitting quietly contemplating his words. I place my own self-interest above others, and the love that I have available for others are the left over bits; once my needs are taken care of I think about the needs of others. I am the priest and Levite, who saw the man injured on the side of the road, and chose to ignore the situation rather than respond (Luke 10-25-37). The sin of the priest and Levite was not that they were evil or mean, but that they chose to ignore; they placed their own priorities over the needs of others. As a result, they failed at loving God, and failed at loving their neighbor.
Jesus did not respond by giving them two commandments: Love God <period> Love Neighbor <period>.
Maybe that is the problem- we try to separate the two, when they are actually one. When I love God, that is when I can love my neighbors more naturally. When I love God, I see my neighbors differently; I see them as God sees them. I see their importance not in their social status or how they make me feel. I see them as someone that God adores; I see them as that lost sheep that God would abandon the flock to go search for that one lost one. When I love my neighbor, that is how I love God. (1 John 4). 1 John 4: 20 explicitly says “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.” There is no way around that verse.
When the teacher of the law asked Jesus what the most important commandment was, Jesus did not respond by giving them two commandments: Love God <period> Love Neighbor <period>. He gave them one commandment: Love God, love neighbor. We need to stop trying to separate the two. From our love of God, we love our neighbors more. And we know we love God when we can love our neighbors well.
Photo by Mollie Sivaram on Unsplash
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