For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:9
It isn’t easy love someone well when we are self-absorbed. After all, when we are only thinking of ourselves, we will not be able to pay attention to the people around us. We will not pause to see their needs and how we can best love and serve them. Self-absorption gives us tunnel vision, making us unable to look beyond ourselves. Because of this, Scripture calls us to look beyond ourselves and our own needs to other people.
The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans that to truly love people, we have to take our eyes off ourselves. In this book, Paul reminds readers of one of the greatest commandments given to followers of Christ. He writes, “For the commandments say, ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.’ These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:9). In writing this, Paul referred to the ten commandments found in the Old Testament that God gave to the people of Israel. Two of these commandments were commands to love God and to love our neighbor. In the New Testament, Jesus explained that the greatest commandment of all 10 commandments was to love God above all else, and the second is to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39). Not only are followers of Christ called to love their neighbor, but they are called to love their neighbor as they love themselves. In order to love our neighbor in the same way that we love ourselves, we must start thinking of our neighbor more and of ourselves less. After all, we cannot properly love our neighbors when we are not able to pay attention to their needs.
If we want to love our neighbor as ourselves, we must stop thinking only about ourselves. We must begin thinking about others and caring for them as we would like others to care for us. Let’s listen to this call to let go of the self-centeredness that the world teaches us and to truly love our neighbors in the same way we love ourselves.
Take some time today to understand what it means to live selflessly. Be sure to read the verses from the “Going Deeper” section, which teach what it looks like to live selflessly. Next, read Philippians 2:1-11, a section of Scripture that describes Jesus’ selfless love and calls followers of Christ to model that love. As you consider this understanding that love is selfless, look up the dictionary definition for the word “selfless.” Think of one way you can start living more selflessly this week.
Read Romans 13:8-14 (NLT)
Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
