Loving Your Neighbor as Yourself

you should, then loving your neighbor the way you should becomes easier.

Loving God the way you should helps you become the best husband/wife, father/mother, boss, employee, friend, relative, pastor, board member, boyfriend/girlfriend, business owner, or whatever else you can think of that involves your interactions with other people.

But to help us get a handle on just how that needs to be lived out in our lives, I want us to look at some other passages of Scripture that clue us in just what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves.

You: If I were to sum up everything I was going to say today in one sentence about loving your neighbor as yourself it would be this:

Remember the Golden Rule.

Matthew 7:12 –

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Ask yourself: “Is this the way I would want to be treated?”

If the answer is “yes,” then chances are good that it would be a blessing to someone else as well.

If the answer is “no,” then don’t do it. It’s that simple.

You would think that this is so basic that we wouldn’t have to talk about it, but you know what? The fact is that there are many who claim to be Christians, maybe for decades, who are so selfish and self-centered that it does damage to the Church and the cause of Christ around the world.

Here are some suggestions to help you get started.

This won’t be an exhaustive list of things we can do, but it should be enough to get you started.

1. Live at peace with others.

Romans 12:18 –

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Be intentional about getting along with others. Be intentional about making friends and being a friend.

Get rid of the attitude that says, “If you meet my personal standards, I’ll be nice to you and let you be my friend.”

That’s just flat-out snobbery and there’s no place for that in the Christian life, that’s for sure.

Be a peacemaker. Wouldn’t you know it – Jesus says that peacemakers are blessed!

If you’re aware of a damaged relationship, whether in your own life or another, try to do what you can to bring healing.

Closely related to this idea is the second one I want to look at today, and that is to…

2. Make forgiveness a priority.

I’m going to camp on this one awhile, because this is so absolutely important to a healthy life in Christ.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that it’s essential to a healthy life in Christ, because to withhold forgiveness is to be disobedient to Christ.

Matthew 6:14-15 –

“If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

If forgiveness is not a large part of your life, then you’re in for a world of hurt and bitterness.

If you need to ask someone for forgiveness, then do it – even if you don’t think they’ll forgive you.

If you are harboring something against someone, forgive them.

Refusing to forgive causes us to be bitter, angry, defensive, and all sorts of other things that are contrary to what the Scriptures says should be in the life of someone who claims to love and follow Jesus.

And that brings me to this next verse, from Colossians.

Colossians 3:13 –

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances