What does it mean to Love your neighbor as your self?

by jst2laws 20 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Lady Lee

  Hmmmm interesting thoughts

  I know I feel most connected to myself when I am in touch with the greater world around me. I see myself as part of the whole. Being in nature definitely helps me to feel a part of something far bigger and greater than "me".

  Interestingly I have used that same scripture many times "Love your neighbor as yourself" in my work with people who have such low self esteem that they see nothing good within themselves. Those who believe in scripture can often say they find it easy to give to others and never ask for themselves - the prefect care-takers of dysfunctional families. They ignore themselves and love the neighbor.

  But the emphasis I place on this is theat to begin to truly love one's neighbor "as yourself" requires that one must first love oneself. Otherwise the command is useless. For those who are ailing of heart and spirit and self-esteem the scripture commands that one love themself. If God loves each person enough to sacrifice His son then it is imperative for believers to appreciate the love that God sends to each of us and follows the command to do both - love oneself and to love the neighbor.

  Steve It seems to me that it was a good thing you left the JWs. I have never heard a JW refer to this scripture in such a healing manner
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  diamondblue1974

  Is it really possible though? Who is classed as your neighbour? Isn't there a conflict somewhere in all this in that to love your neighbour you would at some point have to choose between who you love less? Is the command too burdensome in this day and age?

  It could be said that to love ones neighbour would include not tortiously harming them, or injuring them.

  Donohue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562
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  diamondblue1974

  
  Jez - Brooke...you carry on thinking it...Il say it.

  My previous next door neighbour was worth loving (she was gorgeous)...only problem is though she was loving the wrong neighbour...with very thin walls I could her efforts at loving her other neighbour as herself rather too much...I am surprised he could walk!!!

  Sorry...had to bring the tone down a little.... Question: Does this mean I was coveting my neighbours ass??!...
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  mrs rocky2

  Just something to think about - Jesus gave a very nice illustration to answer the question posed, "who really is my neighbor?" This is the very well known "Good Samaritan" illustration. IMHO, I believe Jesus was showing us that the demonstration of love is a very practical thing and not out of our grasp. If it is in our power to help someone with kindness than we should do that. The illustration did not specifically say that the Samaritan provided practical assistance outside of his means of life. (One could extropolate that he did or did not.) But I am not a Biblical scholar and tend to be very Zen about my scriptural readings. Just my two-bits....

  Linda, aka Mrs Rocky
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  whyamihere

  LOL @ Diamondblue......I do say a few things!

  I had great neighbors growing up,,,,Ahhh many many boys would come by my house and scream out my name for me to come and talk. Oh I loved all my neighbors very well and their dads too...lol.

  Brooke
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  jst2laws

  LittleToe,

  Us mystics and lovers aren't restrained by facts. If an interpretation suites our concepts we can find a way to make it seem right.

  Jez,

  That wasn't bad. Actually I laughed out loud.

  LadyLee,

  Steve It seems to me that it was a good thing you left the JWs. I have never heard a JW refer to this scripture in such a healing manner

  Thanks for that. I was always in trouble for something. The CO's started ganging up on me near the end.

  Jst2laws
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  Frogleg

  This is almost an open ended question because there aren't any reference points. Love is such a broad concept with many approaches and possible methods of operation. If your neighbor wants to play his stereo loud when you want it quiet, should you let him? You play your stereo loud when you love yourself, and you don't when you love yourself in quiet. Does loving him as yourself mean that you let yourself suffer for him? But then, that means that you're loving yourself less than him, which dictates that to love him as yourself, you should love yourself more than him? Are we dizzy yet?

  For me, I had to put into some sort of perspective, so, in what is probably a oversimplification well beyond being too vague, I pictured this:

  Imagine that your father has sent just sent you a million bucks. He tells you that the reason he sent the million bucks is because he loves you and he loves his grandson and he knows that you'll use the dough to benefit everybody, and that would make him happy. But, especially, the first thing he wants you to do is take hisgrandson and a couple of his grandson's friends to Disney World. You are to spend as much time there as is necessary, but they get to saty there until they've ridden all the rides and had all the fun they can have. So, you inform your son, he gets a couple of his buds, you all bundle into the car and off you go to Disney Word (which just happens to be about 30 minutes away). Well, after a short while, you notice your son and one of his frinds having a bit of a tussle in the back seat so you ask about what is going on. Your son tells you that he is sitting in the middle seat and he can't see out and he wants his friend to change places with him so he can see out because sitting in the middle is soooooo boring. Now, you know what lies just ahead of these guys, and you know that about 15 maybe 20 milliseconds after those guys get out of the car and see those gates to Disney World, they won't remember a thing about the trip. You could have probably sewn you son up in a mattress sack for the trip and he wouldn't remember a thing once his feet touched the asphalt and he catches that first glimpse of Mickey waving at him. So you say to your son, "Hey, don't worry about it, Disney World is 20 minutes away."

  What you want your son to do is love his neighbor as himself.
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  Narkissos

  Here are some interesting parallels and comments (both scholarly and non-scholarly):

  http://www.gospelthomas.com/gospelthomas25.html#
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  jgnat

  I think I will stick to the home baking. It's practical, it's tangible, and the personal scrifice is well within my grasp.
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  jst2laws

  Narkissos,

  That is a very interesting link. http://www.gospelthomas.com/gospelthomas25.html#

  I have read the gospel of Thomas as well as Elaine Pagels' Beyond belief on the controversy of Thomas' gospel vs John's. An eye opener for 'true believers'.

  Thanks for the link.

  Jst2laws