Lost that loving feeling...

Posted in , , , By Misti Runyan 0 comments

And He said to him, “ ‘ YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘ You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’--Matthew 22:37-39

A friend of mine told me a story about being stuck in a traffic jam recently. Construction had turned a simple intersection into a mess that drivers couldn't properly navigate. As my friend got stuck just past the center of the intersection, the driver behind him (who was in the center) became extremely rude-laying on his horn and trying to get out from behind my friend's vehicle. That is, until my friend got out of his vehicle to "discuss" the issue. The driver then quickly took the first opening, pulled around my friend and took off. 

My friend expressed to me that he didn't understand why the other driver was so rude: there was nothing he could have done to get out of the guy's way, why couldn't he see that?

As our culture presents to us new devices, programs, and discoveries designed to make our lives easier, we are becoming more and more self-centered. "Save time and money" quickly becomes "no more hard work", which then becomes "me first". This is the exact opposite of what Jesus tells us in this passage above. If we love our neighbor as much as ourselves, "me first" should naturally become "together".

I have written about 1 Corinthians 13 before. "Love is patient, love is kind..." Many of us don't realize this is the most important concept in the Bible. Let's put two and two together here: Christ took our punishment and died for us, who was the embodiment of God, Who is Love. So in theory, we could exchange "Love" for "God" in all these verses. When Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, He is challenging us to love like God does. This love is sacrificial; it has no place in the same breath as "me first".

As children of God, we need to stop looking at others through the lens of "me first". When we do that, the other person's value becomes tied to what they can do for us.  God has never viewed us from that perspective. Why would He? We can't offer Him anything He doesn't already have--except for our surrender; our willingness to love and follow Him.

There are many passages in the Bible that point us to the love concept. A few are listed below. Which of these need to be implemented in your life today to help remove the "me first" attitude we all have as sinners?

John 3:30-He must increase, but I must decrease.

Philippians 4:11b-...for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Ephesians 5: 25-Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.

Acts 4: 32 -And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.