28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:28-31 (Matthew 22:35-40, Luke 10:25-28, Deuteronomy 6:4-6True love should always involve the love of God. We love others by being truthful, honest and encouraging. Love is spiritual and rises way above the human version of benevolent humanism. Love has power and it is involves the commitment and discipline of our feelings and thinking. It takes commitment to love, it is not just a whimsical affectation which is here one moment and gone the next minute when we don't feel like being loving.
God's love in any situation is the right answer. It cannot be dumbed down to human speculation. True acts of love always glorify God. True acts of love lift people out of the quicksand of the negative dramas of life.
By loving God, we are loving ourselves and then can do the same for others. This is a genuine type of self-love that overflows to others. Our actions toward others should come from a heart filled with the love of God not by man's definition and expectation of a good heart. We need to remember that we hurt people when we try to take God's place or glory in their lives. The greatest action toward those around us is to provide a springboard for them to get to know God and encourage them to trust his love to help them.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Maimonides
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