Love Your Neighbors

“Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

Matthew 22:36‭-‬40 CSB

Sometimes an unpopular opinion is something that needs to be heard and thought about in retrospection of oneself. It needs to challenge the paradigm and attitudes of people who maybe have gone a little astray in their walk with God because they don't agree with something and begin to look out only for themselves. Our focus can easily change from God to ourselves with just simple things. I know this is true because I have been having issues because I listened to people that I shouldn't have. My troubles have become my own and I'm trying to deal with them on my terms instead of letting God put me straight. So my unpopular opinion is not just for thought but also to fix my brain and put it back on track.

I know I have mentioned in previous posts how I think Christians should wear a mask simply because we should be more loving to everyone. But I'm going to go further and say we should, if required, wear masks, get vaccinated (no it does not have tracking chips in it, nor does it cause genetic abnormalities), or do whatever needs to be done to put to ease, the minds of our neighbors. We should never spout off our inane ramblings of conspiracy, but instead reach into our hearts and embrace Jesus and do what is asked of us to bring comfort and peace to those around us.

Jesus told us, in Matthew, that the second most important commandment is to love your neighbors as yourself. I am not in anyways saying be afraid of viruses, but I am saying love those people that might be. Be a light to them and show them the power of God is always working in everyday life, with LOVE. I have heard a lot of people who identify as Christian saying things like, "It's my body." "I look out for my own health, people need to worry about themselves." "God will take care of it." "If God will protect me from the virus." And other things of the sort. But did you notice anything in those comments? (And those are comments I have personally either read or heard from other Christians.) Three of the four are about themselves. 

From Bible.com

If Jesus told the Pharisees that nothing is more important the loving God with everything you are and the second most important thing is loving your neighbors as you love yourself, how can we focus on our own health and own bodies and not focus on our neighbors' bodies and health as well?

I have mentioned that all sin seems to stem from selfishness, and you can see it here too. People decry masks and now the vaccine as an afront some perceived notion of freedom. I will let you in on a little secret, you do not belong to you. If you are a Christian, you belong to God. Body, soul, mind, they are no longer yours but they fully belong to God, for him to do with as he wishes. We are fortunate that God loves us because he does and not for what we bring to the table. So God wants the best for us, but God looks at the big picture, the whole of creation, he is willing to use your life to reach someone else even if it means your death to do it. When he does that he gives you the hope realized of eternal life so that the next person will also be able to receive it as well. 

We are, all of us who follow Jesus, expendable. Not that God wants us to die, nor will everyone who believes in him have to sacrifice their lives for others, but if we need to do that for the lives of others, it is something that we should do happily. And if being a martyr is a glorious thing, in the end, is not being a protector of those who need it just as glorious?