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.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40; all Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible).

It has become fashionable today to emphasize Jesus’ statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” A Christian who calls a socially accepted action “sin” may be accused of being “unloving” or “judgmental.”

At times, we are guilty of these accusations. However, at other times, the accusers are wrong.

Jesus said “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” is the second commandment, not the first. Our first obligation is to “love the Lord your God.” He commands us to love God first: before family, friends, neighbors, or our nation.

When we love God, we will obey Him. We will trust that He knows best, even if His commands contradict our personal preferences and desires, or even if they indict friends and loved ones as sinners. We cannot properly love our neighbors if we seek to love them more than or before God.

On another occasion, Jesus said:

“And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved” (Matthew 24:10-13).

This prophecy is being fulfilled in our generation. Since many Christians have abandoned love for God, they are loving the world to the ruin of their souls. Let us aim to love the Lord God first and foremost, with all of our hearts, souls, and minds. Then, and only then, will we be able to love our neighbors correctly.

Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? How does it show?

Copyright © 2023 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.