Love Has an Order
Written for Bible Journey Plan. Our editorial standards.
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 neighbour as thyself.
Matthew 22:37-39 KJV
Jesus was asked about the great commandment in the law. He answered with love for God and then love for our neighbor. He did not tell us to choose whichever one feels easier on a particular day.
Loving God means taking His word seriously. Loving our neighbor means caring about people in ways that agree with that word. A friend may ask you to lie as a sign of loyalty. You can refuse the lie and still care about the friend. God never asks us to prove love by doing wrong.
The two commands also keep us from hiding behind religious words while being cruel. Knowing Bible facts does not excuse mocking a classmate. Let what you learn about the Lord shape the way you treat others. Real love has more strength than a pleasant feeling. It chooses what is truthful, helpful, and right even when that takes effort.
Bring the truth into your day
Love for God reaches the whole person, including our thinking and choices. Love for a neighbour reaches the way we treat someone with needs of his own. Give those commands practical attention. Be honest with your work, respectful in speech, and helpful where you can. These acts do not earn salvation. They belong to a life directed toward the Lord rather than a life organised only around personal comfort.
Keep the passage in context
Jesus identifies love for God as the greatest commandment and love for our neighbor as the second. Love for people belongs under wholehearted love for God, not in competition with it.
Read further: Matthew 22 in the King James Bible.