You have heard it said, “Love your neighbor, as yourself.” This saying originally came from God Almighty Himself, when addressing the Israelites in the Old Testament. Leviticus 19:34 states, “The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” (NKJV - emphasis mine). This idea of loving our neighbors as ourselves was so important, that it is mentioned in the Bible 18 different times. Why would the Bible mention this concept so many times? Why would this saying from old be reiterated throughout history to this day? Simple answer - BECAUSE IT IS HARD TO DO!
At times, loving others can be a very difficult thing; let alone loving others as ourselves. Loving people who are easy to love is one thing. Loving our spouses, children, family is at times hard, but generally, is considered do-able. Loving unlovable people? That is another story. Note, this saying does not come with conditions. It does not say, “Love your lovely neighbor as yourself.” 0r “Love only your family members as yourself.” It states, “Love your neighbor, as yourself” (PERIOD!)
In order for us to be able to walk out this principle, we first have to know who our neighbor is. To determine who is considered to be our “neighbor,” let’s go to the source of the word. The word neighbor can be divided into two English words, “neah” and “gabur.” The word “neah” means “near; and the word “gabur” means “dweller.” So our neighbor can be considered anyone who dwells near us. In other words, anyone we come in contact with.
So now that we know who our neighbor is, why are we reminded so many times to love our neighbors as ourselves? As previously stated, we constantly need to be reminded of this concept, because it is a hard thing to do. Additionally, if we lived by this principle, all of us would be better off. If we truly loved our neighbors as ourselves, the majority of conflicts in our lives would be resolved. Think about it, when a conflict with another person arises, if you were to take moment and put yourself in the other persons’ shoes and ask yourself, “how would I want to be treated if this was me?”; chances are, you would respond in a kind and loving way, because that is how you would want to be treated. If everyone acted in such a manner, it would make life a lot easier for all.
Conflicts are a normal part of life, but how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner takes practice. So the next time you face a conflict with a family member, co-worker, or just a “neighbor,” try to step back and respond in a way that loves that neighbor as yourself.
Abundant Admininstration