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Always love thy neighbor as thyself
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“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:36-40).
The occasion of the preceding discourse was a time when some of the Pharisees seeing Jesus quiet their adversaries the Sadducees, sought to tempt our Lord. Trying to see just how well he knew the law. How surprised they must have been when they were given an answer that summarized the entire law of God: Love of God and love of fellow man.
This attitude of caring for others should not be unusual for the child of God. It should be the way they live their lives, always seeking to do good to others and to show and share the love of God with those about them.
“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10). “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of other”.(Phil. 2:3-4).
Sadly this is not always the case. Some have fallen in to the snare of Satan by only looking to their own wants and needs. Many such Christians do not even realize the “snare has been sprung” about them. However, their example shows that Satan has them in his grasp.
You see, Satan is a very crafty being and strives with all his might to cause Christians to fail in keeping God’s law. It is a must that Christians be on guard all the time against his attacks. Many Christians who fail the caring test are extremely versed in the scriptures –but knowing the scriptures is not enough. We must act upon what we know.
James put it this way: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). We can deceive ourselves into thinking we are everything we need to be. But we need to take stock of ourselves from time to time, less we be “snared” and “unaware.”
We need to remember how the early Christians acted toward God and each other. They obeyed the gospel of Christ, and then began to care for each other. “And all that believed were together, and had all things common” (Acts 2:44); “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common” (Acts 4:32).
While the world may only see and feel the need to look to God and their fellow man only on occasion, children of God should and must keep this spirit of caring each and every day. Let us always remember the words of our Lord: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

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