Duology - Part II: Love your neighbor...

As I mentioned in the first segment, we know that we have The Ten Commandments to follow, which is referenced in Exodus 20:3-17 and Deuteronomy 5:7-21.  The first four teaches us how to love God, and the last six teaches us how to love others.  But Jesus altered the two themes into two separate Commandments; the two greatest commandments.  First, you should "Love the Lord your God..."  And second, you should "Love your neighbor as yourself."  In my first segment, I talked about the first of the two Commandments and gave insight on how to love the Lord your God.  In this segment, I will be talking about what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.  Now, I have been asked: "Was Jesus saying that 'love for God' is the greatest commandment while ''love for neighbor' is second in importance?  Or was he saying that both 'love of God' and 'love of neighbor' are equally important and rank as the greatest commandments?"  Well, that's kind of hard to say for sure.  We can look at the differences in the Gospels, but any conclusion will be based purely on speculation and conjecture.  First, in Deuteronomy 6:6, after Moses was told how to "Love the Lord your God," with the exception of "with all your mind," God said: "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts."  Also, in Matthew 22:38, after saying to love the Lord your God, Jesus said: "This is the first and greatest commandment."  Then, in Matthew 22:39 (as well as Mark 12:31), He said that "the second is like it," which was to love your neighbor.  This would imply that "love for God" is of greater importance than the "love for neighbor."  However, after Jesus mentioned BOTH of the commandments, He said in Mark 12:31: "There is no commandment greater than these.”  Also, after BOTH of the commandments were mentioned to Jesus, He said in Luke 10:28: “Do this and you will live.”  Jesus also said in Mark 12:33, after mentioning BOTH commandments, that following them: "is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  These three verse would imply that "love for God" and "love for neighbor" are equally important.  Whatever the case may be, one this is for certain...  Both of these  Commandments are the two greatest commandments from the Lord your God Himself.  

Exodus 20:12-17 and Deuteronomy 5:16-21 states the last six Commandments.  And as mentioned, the last six Commandments teaches us what we should do to love others; how to love your neighbor; to love your neighbor as yourself.  Now, before we get into what it means to love your neighbor as yourself, we need to first state or describe the exact nature, scope, or meaning of the word "neighbor."  How do we define a "neighbor?"  Well, one way is its common denotation: "A person living near or adjacent to the speaker or person referred to."  So, a neighbor in this regard is any person who lives in the same vicinity and engages in mutual activities.  This could include people who live immediately next door to you and people who are in your local community.  But does the instruction "Love your neighbor as yourself" apply only to people living nearby?  Probably not.  However, another way to define "neighbor" is: "A fellow human or fellowman."  Therefore, a neighbor in this regard is any person of equal rank, position, or background.  As we will see, this definition may be the most applicable in the point of view attempted.  So, now, let's look at the tenet "Love your neighbor as yourself" in both the Biblical and secular sense to further explore its tenor.  

THE SECULAR SENSE:

Everybody is familiar with The Golden Rule (also known as the ethic of reciprocity).  The Golden Rule is basically treating other people the way you would want to be treated.  It is stated in both the Positive and Negative form.  The only difference is that in the Negative form (also called "The Silver Rule"), it states that you should not treat other people in the way you would not want to be treated.  Much to the contrary of what a lot of people think, it is not all Biblically based.  The Golden Rule is regarded mainly as a humanistic principle, especially from the bylaws in the IHEU and the Humanist Manifesto II (1973).  Humanists try to embrace this maxim due to its universality, because it is derived from human feelings and experience and it requires people to think about others and try to imagine how they might think and feel.  No, not everybody has the same tastes and opinions, nor does everybody want to be treated the same in every situation.  But pretty much everybody would like to be treated with respect; to be treated with tolerance, consideration and compassion.  It is not bad to try to empathize with other people, and yes, this includes people who are different from us.  Empathy is at the root of kindness, understanding and acceptance, which are qualities that we all appreciate being shown, no matter who we are, what we think and where we come from.  So, no, it is not a requirement to have a religious background in order to be able to be affable and courteous to another human being.  Like being a Believer, our attitudes and dispositions toward others is what we choose; it is of our own free will.  Many philosophers and founders of religions down through many centuries have had their own expressions about "The Golden Rule."

• Do not to your neighbor what you would take ill from him. (Pittacus, 650 BC).
• Whatever is disagreeable to yourself, do not do unto others. (Zoroaster, The Shast-na-shayast 13:29, 600 BC)
• Hurt not others with that which pains yourself. (Buddha, The Udanavarga 5:18, 560 BC). 
• Do not unto another that you would not have him do unto you. Thou needest this law alone. It is the foundation of all the rest.  (Confucius, The Analects 15:23, 500 BC).
• Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss. (T’ai Shang Kan Ying P’ien 213-218, 500 BC).
• A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.  (Sudharmasvami, Sutrakritanga 1.11.33, around 500 BC - give or take).
• Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing. (Thales, 464 BC).
• What you wish your neighbors to be to you, such be also to them.  (Sextus the Pythagorean, 406 BC).
• We should conduct ourselves toward others as we would have them act toward us.  (Aristotle, 384 BC).
• Cherish reciprocal benevolence, which will make you as anxious for another’s welfare as your own. (Aristippus of Cyrene, 365 BC).
• Act toward others as you desire them to act toward you. (Isocrates, 338 BC).
• This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you. (Mahabharata 5:1517, 300 BC). 
• What thou thyself hatest, do to no man. (Tobias 4:15, 180 BC).
• What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. (Rabbi Hillel, The Talmud, 50 BC).
• The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as themselves (Roman Paganism).
• What thou avoidest suffering thyself seek not to impose on others. (Epictetus, Encheiridion, 125 AD).
• One should always treat others as they themselves wish to be treated (Narayan Pandit, The Hitopadesha v 353, 1373).
• Do as ye wald be done to.  That is, LIVE AND LET LIVE (David Ferguson, Scottish Proverbs # 582, 1641).
• Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone. (Guru Arjan Devji 259, The Guru Granth Sahib, 1705).
• Act as if the maxim of your action were to become by your will a universal law of nature. (Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, The Categorical Imperative – Law of Nature, 1785).
• Therefore, all things whatsoever that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law of the prophets. (Joseph Smith Jr,  Book of the Mormons, 3 Nephi 14:12, 1830).
• Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself. (Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, 10th leaf verse 7, page 72, 1873).

The 1980 booklet written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard entitled "The Way To Happiness" lists 21 moral precepts and expresses The Golden Rule both in its negative/prohibitive form and in its positive form.  Precept 19 states: "Try not to do things to others that you would not like them to do to you."  Precept 20 states: "Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you."  Although I am not a student of Islam, but the Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 13 says: “Not one of you is a believer until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.”  The Golden Rule is implicitly expressed in some verses of Qur'an, but is explicitly declared in the sayings of Muhammad.  Occults such as Wiccans believe in "The Golden Rule."  These eight words the Rede fulfill, "an ye harm none do as ye will."  In other words, do what you will, so long as it harms none (nothing or no one, including yourself).  And, oh yes, even Satan followers have their own "Golden Rule" to an extent.  No, I have never read the satanic bible, nor do I intend to ever read it.  But I know that the fourth and fifth satanic statement is that people should give kindness to only those who deserve it and vengeance instead of turning the other cheek.  They do not believe in Matthew 5:39.  So, it's not that they believe that one should treat others the way they would want to be treated, but that people should treat others the way others treat them.  That is, react to the treatment given by others by responding to them in the same way.  They believe in the "Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth" saying.  Whatever the philosophy or religion may be, pretty much everyone believes that respect should be reciprocated.  

Now, if we were to look at the statement "Love your neighbor as yourself," we would see that that although there are a couple of interpretations to it, problems have still arisen from it due to the different personalities of people.  First, some people think highly of themselves and tend to affront and even vituperate others.  This, of course, would be the obvious target of this statement.  But it goes further than that.  Another group of people are those who think very low of themselves and, not so much put other people down, but themselves.  This, unfortunately, creates two problems.  

The first group of people are people who think very highly of themselves.  In fact, too highly of themselves, to amend it more precisely.  Now, it is important to "love or like yourself."  After all, to "love your neighbor as yourself," to some degree, implies that love for others is partially based on how you love yourself.  And you would think that this would insinuate that if you thought highly of yourself, you would think highly of others, right?  But as we see, this is not the case.  In fact, it seems that the higher a person thinks of themselves, the less they think of others.  There is no known reason why people become egotistic and boastful, but it does create a lot of negative and unpleasant attributes.  This particular group of people tend to have traits such as arrogance, vanity and, unfortunately, attitudes that convey hedonism (at any cost) and hypocrisy.  I, personally, do not know anybody who is drawn to that.  And although it is important to "love or like yourself," you should not do so at the expense of others.  You should love yourself with a "healthy balance."  Healthy is defined as: Sound; in good condition; not damaged, injured, or diseased.  Balance is defined as: a force in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions enabling someone or something to remain upright.  So, loving yourself with a healthy balance means loving yourself in a way that shows nous and good judgment by not going to extremes with cognitive appraisal (personal mental interpretation), affective state (personal feelings) and character (e.g. The Big Five Personality Traits).  Thus, people who come off as presumptuous and pretentious have an equilibrium of self-worth that is unsteady (like the people with low-self-esteem).  Because of this, in the case of the instruction:"Love your neighbor as yourself," this group of people have a difficulty with the "Love your neighbor..." part.  They see no problem with loving themselves, but to love their neighbor AS themselves is where it would get tough for them.  This would probably be a time to remember "The Golden Rule."  Sure, you could ask yourself: "How would I want to be treated?"  But other questions you could ask yourself is: "Would I like a person who acts like me?"  "Would I want someone to dish out to me what I dish out to others?"  "When I make an opinion about somebody, would I want them to make that kind of opinion about me?"  "I did this to this person.  Would I like if it were done to me by that same person or anybody else?"  True, not everybody's personality is the same.  But as mentioned, pretty much everyone believes that respect should be reciprocated.  Now, one might say: "Respect?"  If I don't like something about somebody or agree with them about something, I don't have to honor it."  And that's true, you don't have to honor it.  You don't have to venerate it in any way, shape or form.  However, the term respect not only indicates honor, but it also denotes acceptance.  So, no, you don't have to honor it, but you can accept it.  I have studied World Religions and have found it to be quite interesting.  Sure, there are people who are a part of those religions.  And no, I don't agree with them (or, at least, I don't agree with ALL of the beliefs of those religions).  But I accept them.  That is, I accept the fact that the people who choose to follow those religions firmly believe in the doctrines of those religions.  I don't honor them, but I do accept them.  Hence, I respect the beliefs of other people (whether I agree with them or not).  Furthermore, humble yourself before others.  To become humble means to become unassuming, aware of the talents of others and conscious of your own shortcomings.  I talked about what it means to possess humility in Part I of my Duology.  

The second group of people are those who do not think much of themselves at all.  Keep in mind that this is not the same as being bumble.  Sure, a humble person may not exalt themselves, but they do have a moderate estimate of their own importance.  Some people confuse humility with self-hatred.  Being modest does not mean putting yourself down all the time, and it sure doesn't mean to hate yourself.  As I mentioned, you should "love yourself" (i.e. like yourself)  And love yourself with a "healthy balance," absolutely.  Part of the problem is that as we grow and mature, our parents unintentionally teach us to believe that if we say we love or like ourselves, people will think we are egoistic and conceited.  After all, nobody likes people who are self-centered and big headed.  And our parents do not want us to become that way, nor do they want anybody else to think that way about us.  But sometimes we confuse these lessons and become abashed of the liking of ourselves, and thus, a distortion of our self-concept comes about.  There are those who choose to go too far on the other side of the pendulum where self-esteem is quite low due to this upbringing without deliberate intent.  As a result, they can become underachievers (sometimes, not always), they do not know how to take a compliment and any praise they would attempt to give themselves would come off more as self-bullying.  This, of course, would create a couple of issues with following the instructions: "Love your neighbor as yourself."  However, for this group of people, they sort of have a difficulty with the "..as yourself" part.  They see no problem with loving their neighbor per sé, but to love their neighbor as themselves is where it would get tough for them.  You see, this lack of self-worth can bring about two possible upshots.  First, if the person is unable to "love or like themselves", he/she will not be able to love or like others (not in a healthy way, at least).  After all, if your love for others is partially based on how you love yourself, your love for others would be just as chaotic as your love for yourself, and thus, just as abject.  And second, if the person is unable to "love or like themselves," nobody else is going to love or like them, either.  Nobody that I know likes to hang around people who are always pessimistic, down on themselves and constantly expressing their irritation to and about the world.  Let's go back to the subject of respect again for a moment.  Although respect for others is important, there is also a thing called: self-respect.  You should possess humility, but you should also possess dignity.  Dignity is recognizing your right to inherent nobility and worth, respect and ethical treatment.  You have the cognizance and the privilege to be accepted and to be treated with consideration.  When it comes to dignity, this not only applies to how others treat you, but how you treat yourself as well.  Respect yourself, and other will be more likely to.

THE BIBLICAL SENSE:

As we've seen, The Golden Rule is not limited to the Bible, however, you can find it many times in the Bible.  The first time you it is within the context of The Torah, which is is the Jewish name for the first five books of (particularly The Old Testament) the Holy Bible.  In Leviticus 19:18, it says: “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the LORD."  Then, we go into the New Testament.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:12: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."  In Matthew 19:18-19, with the exception of "Do not covet," Jesus said: "'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and ‘'love your neighbor as yourself'".  Then, in Matthew 22:39, Jesus said: ""And the second is like it: '‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"  Similarly, in Mark 12:31, Jesus said: ""The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"  Jesus said in Mark 12:33 that to love God and "your neighbor as yourself" is "'more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.'”  Jesus said (as commonly as The Golden Rule is stated) in Luke 6:31 to: "Do to others as you would have them do to you."  In Luke 10:27, after a law expert said to Jesus to "love the Lord your God," he then said to Jesus: "and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"  In Romans 13:9-10, another one that has the exception of "Do not covet", the Apostle Paul said: "The commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not covet,' and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.  Love does no harm to a neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."  He also said in Galatians 5:14: "For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The Apostle James said in James 2:8 said that: "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right."  Even if you were to read the Gnostic Gospels, The Apostle Thomas said in Thomas 25: "Jesus said, 'Love your friends (or brothers/sisters or neighbors) like your own soul, protect (or guard) them like the pupil of your eye.'"

Now, let's go back to the Gospel Luke for a moment, particularly Luke 10:25-37.  It is about The Parable of the Good Samaritan.  The definition of a "Good Samaritan" is: A compassionate person who voluntarily and unselfishly offers sympathy or help in times of trouble or distress.  The "Good Samaritan Law" protects those who choose to serve and tend to others who are injured, ill, in peril, or otherwise incapacitated. They are intended to reduce bystanders' hesitation to assist, for fear of being sued or prosecuted for unintentional injury or wrongful death.  I know this due to being a Ross Cross volunteer instructor for CPR and First Aid.  Nevertheless, Luke 10:25-37 is where the term "Good Samaritan" comes from.  The story goes like this...  One day, a law expert stood up to test Jesus and asked Him: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  In other words, he asked Jesus: "What must I do to go to Heaven?"  “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied.  "How do you read it?"  Few people know what Jesus meant by asking the law expert this.  I guess He was saying: "Well, you are a law EXPERT.  You know the law.  What does the law say?  What are the greatest commandments you can follow?  In your best educated guess, what does the law say to do to inherit eternal life?"  Being an expert in the law, he answered: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"  Instead of Jesus complacently saying something like: "See, you know what to do.  It is written in your law.  You didn't have to ask me.  All you have to do is: follow those two commandments," He said with all humbleness and in a straightforward manner: "Do this and you will live."  That is, "Do this and when you die you will go to heaven; you will inherit eternal life."

Now, the Scripture says that the law expert wanted to justify himself and I am sure that was the reason for his next question.  But still, I do believe that this was a legitimate question.  It was a fair and reasonable question.  Sure, you could assume the question was asked out of bumptiousness and arrogance.  But you can also assume that it was asked based on good sense, sound judgement and sheer curiosity; not extreme or excessive.  Either way you look at it, the answer to this question should be one that everybody should know.  In Luke 10:29, the law expert asked: "And who is my neighbor?"  In other words, the law expert asked: “Who is the neighbor I’m supposed to love like myself?”  Jesus' answer could have been simply "Everybody," but Jesus wanted to be more specific in His reply.  So, as usual, He answered the question like He did so many.  His response was told as a simple story used to illustrate a moral theme or spiritual lesson.  His rejoinder was in the form of a parable.  The story was basically this...  A man traveled down the Jericho Road, a most dangerous place for travelers.  Thieves regularly lurked on the road to attack unsuspecting travelers.  Jesus said that the man was attacked on the road, robbed, and then left for dead.  Jesus tells us about two individuals who saw the injured man and did not help.  One of the men was a priest and the other was a Levite.  Why did these two religious men refuse to help a man who was in desperate need?  Jesus didn't say what the reasons were. There are several possible reasons.  Perhaps they reasoned that they were engaged in important religious work and thus not responsible for the injured man.  Perhaps they were afraid that the thieves were still close by.  Perhaps they simply were in a hurry and thought that they didn't have time to stop.  Whatever the reason, they left a man bleeding and badly injured and went on their way.   And then, there was the Samaritan.  The very fact that he was a Samaritan probably startled those who were listening to Jesus.  Samaritans were the outcasts of Jewish society; hated by all of them.  Jews didn't see the Samaritans as their "neighbors."  The Samaritan took the time, and the potential risks, to stop and care for this man in need.  He went above and beyond what anyone would expect by caring for the man’s wounds, placing him on his animal, taking him to an inn and paying for his room until he recovered.  At that point, Jesus asked the pivotal question: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  Now, the law expert knew that the answer was: "The Samaritan," but notice he did not come right out and say that.  His answer was a little more general.  The law expert answered: "The one who had mercy on him.”  Jesus, of course, knew that the law expert knew that the answer was: "The Samaritan."  Jesus could have pushed his answer to be more specific by asking: "And who was that?" or "And that person was?"  But instead, knowing that the law expert knew what the answer was, Jesus said: “You have answered correctly.”  Then, He said: “Go and do likewise.”  Keep in mind that Jesus did not distinctively say: "Be like that Samaritan; a person in a group of people all of you hate."  No, what He was advising was that all of us should do as that Samaritan did.  Sure, Jesus could have said: "Everybody is your neighbor," but He knew that many people who were listening to Him would have missed the point.  He knew that the people listening to Him would have subconsciously thought that "Everybody" meant "Everybody we love, everybody who loves us and all of those who we associate ourselves with."  But everybody means EVERYBODY; everyone; every single person.  This includes total strangers, people we do not like and people who do not like us.  To demonstrate this notion, Jesus used a parable involving a Samaritan.  Only in this story, Jesus said that our neighbors are especially those people who ignore us, those people who separate themselves from us, those people who are afraid of us, those people we have the most difficulty loving and those people we feel don’t love us. These are our neighbors.  It is no coincidence or surprise that Jesus picked an outcast to demonstrate the meaning of "a neighbor," since He did promulgate that we should "(agapé) love our enemies" (Matthew 5:43-48 and Luke 6:27-38).  So, When Jesus was asked: “Who is the neighbor I’m supposed to love like myself?,” He didn't say “Your family,” or "Your friends," or "Your acquaintances," or “The people of your neighborhood," or "The people who are like you.”  No, He said the exact opposite.  But keep in mind that Jesus told this parable to include our enemies, not to exclude our friends and loved ones.  

Subsequently, two truths are found from this parable.  First, a neighbor is any person we encounter who has any need.  Since every person we encounter has a need of some kind, we can understand the term to include every person we encounter. Second, we are to be a neighbor. The question is not just “Who is my neighbor?” but also, “Am I being a neighbor?”  Neighboring is done as we show mercy.  So, in addition to telling the law expert who his neighbor was, Jesus also reversed the roles and instructed the law expert to act like a neighbor to others.  In other words, the law expert should not only ask who his neighbor is, he should also see himself as a neighbor to everyone he meets.  Once he becomes everyone’s neighbor, then everyone he meets will be his neighbor.  Once we understand that, then we can see that there are three characteristics to a "true neighbor."

• A true neighbor is recognizes those who are in need.
• A true neighbor is has compassion for those in need.
• A true neighbor is committed to helping those in need.

So, Biblically, who is your neighbor? Any person who is hurting.  Any person in need.  Anyone who needs the saving news of salvation. Jesus tells us that if we love and show compassion on only those who are our friends or family, we are not really doing what God desires.  When He was talking about loving our enemies, he said in Matthew 5:46-47: "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Do not even the tax collectors do that? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?  Do not even that?"  Similarly, He said in Luke 6:32-33: "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same."  If you would like to get an idea of the destiny of the people who loved their neighbors and those that did not, read Matthew 25:32-46.  

So, there you go.  Biblically, "Love your neighbor..." refers specifically to strangers, family, friends and even our enemies.  Secularly, "Love your neighbor..." refers to all mankind   Do you know someone who is hurting?  Try to help them with healing.  Do you know someone who is hungry?  Do what you can to feed them.  Do you know someone who is outside of Christ and lost?  Show them the saving message of salvation.  Remember, every human being in need is our neighbor.  To help your neighbor is to love your neighbor.  Do you love your neighbor?