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Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

David Marino

2015SP_ ENG112_37
Prof. J. Intawiwat
April 28th, 2015

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David M. Marino
Prof. J. Intawiwat
2015SP_ENG112_37
April 28th, 2015
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
We live in a world where people are more concerned about how many likes they can get
on photo on social media, then they do the people who are suffering around the world. A world
where we live to make the most of ourselves, while neglecting other people. The rich get richer,
and the poor get poorer. At first I thought the reason this is lack of love, but that is simply not
true. We do love; we love ourselves. But I would argue that love is not self-absorbing, but selfgiving. In order for our world to change, we need to have love revolution. A love that doesnt
seek it own good, but the good of others. A love that puts social media and self-success on hold,
in order to help those in need. A love that shows that success isnt measured by self, but by
serving others. I believe this change is doable, and has happened and is currently happening.
Jesus Christ, a Jewish carpenter, said to be the Son of God, displayed this kind of love. This kind
of love is summed up in one of his most famous quotes, You shall love your neighbor as
yourself (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Mk. 12.31). I believe the way to change
the world is by loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. I hope to unpack what love is, Jesus
example of love, and share what it means to love your neighbor as your love yourself. By doing
so I am convinced that the world will change.
So what is love? I would argue that most people dont know what love is. When we ask
the question, what is love? a few things may come to mind. We first may think of marriage or

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dating, being with the love of our lives. Or we may think of what we love such as: food,
movies, or activities. And I myself think of the song, What is Love by Haddaway.
I think in a way, we have used the word love so much, that we have diminished its value. Lisa
Rabinowitz writes in her article, What is Love?,
We say "I love you" or "I love (fill in the blank)" so casually in our everyday lives
that it becomes empty and insignificant. Many people say "I love pizza," "I love
brownies," "I love working out (or maybe not)," "I love my car," and recently I
heard a teenager tell someone she had only met a few days prior, "I love you so
much." I wondered to myself, "If they just met a few days ago, do they really love
each other, and do we really love all of these things?" (Rabinowitz, What is
Love?)
A word with so much power and meaning has become a word we use to describe everything. I
have heard many people use the word love to describe going to the bathroom. There has to be a
true understand of what love is, in order to bring this change in the world.
The Apostle Paul gives a very strong definition of love. It goes: Love is patient and
kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is
not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (The Holy Bible: English
Standard Bible, 1 Cor. 13.4-7). I think this give a very accurate depiction of love and what love
is. Francis Chan in his book, Crazy Love, explains love in a very interesting way; specifically
between God and man from a Christian perspective. Chan writes, So there is an incalculable,
faultless, eternal God who loves the frail beings He made with a crazy kind of love (Chan 65).
This statement paints the picture of love very well, and brings the question to mind, Why would

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God love people with his eternal love, when they have nothing to give back? This God does not
love them because they can do something for him, but he loves them freely. Love is something
that is freely given, regardless of conditions; it is simply unconditional. Chan goes on to explain,
Even though we die could die at any moment and generally think our puny lives are pretty
sweet compared to loving Him, He persists in loving us with unending outrageous love (Chan
65). It is incredible to think from a Christian perspective, of love being found in self-sacrifice,
not self-reward. This is what we find in Chans words.
So, we have discussed a lot about what love is, but what does love look like in action?
What is a good example of loving your neighbor as yourself?
A great example of someone who lived out love is Jesus. Jesus was born around 2,000
years ago, in a town called Bethlehem. The Bible teaches that Jesus was born to save people
from their sin. Jesus was to do this by laying down his life by means of Roman execution on the
cross. By doing this, Jesus sacrifice on a cross would pay the penalty of sin for all humanity.
This is one way Jesus showed love for others. Jesus also showed love for others by performing
many miracles. In the Bible, Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, hung out with the outcast, and
cared for the needy. He even befriended the enemies of his own people and began relationship
with them. In a world where we hate our enemies, Jesus, loved his enemies, and served them.
Pastor Gary Soop describes the love of Jesus as, love that is perfect and pure, trustworthy and
true, holy and everlasting (Soop, The Love of Jesus). Jesus definitely set a great a example of
what love is, and what is means to love your neighbor as yourself.
So what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? In Marks gospel, Jesus gives the
command, You shall love your neighbor as yourself (The Holy Bible: English Standard Bible,
Mk. 12.31). To love your neighbor your neighbor as your self is a simple concept that plays out

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into every aspect of our live. It affects how we treat others, the world, and ourselves. To love
your neighbor as yourself is simply to treat others the way you would want to be treated. But it is
more. It means to care for the others the way you would want to be cared for. It means to feed
others the way you would want to be fed. It means to treat people equally. It doesnt mean we
give ourselves the best, and give the scraps to others, but we prefer others above ourselves. To
love your neighbor as your self is to live to serve others, and with the end goal being we all live
to serve each other. This is what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. Theologian, and
president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Daniel Akin, says, we are to love
others genuinely (Akin 289). So in short, to love your neighbor as yourself is to treat others the
way you want to be treated.
In conclusion, the world needs a love revolution; a revolution to love your neighbor as
yourself. A revolution that says that I am going to treat you the right way, even if you treat me
the wrong way. A revolution of love, which means patience, kindness, goodness, long-suffering,
and the other virtues described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. In world that is self-consumed, oblivious
to the needs around it, we can be the light that shines from the darkness. The light may be small,
but it is contagious. All it will take is one person doing it to another, and then so on, until we
finally we will see a major shift in the soil. When Jesus did it 2,000 years ago, he was left alone,
and even died for his cause. Now there over two billion people who are following his teaching to
love their neighbor as themselves. I am convinced that by people loving their neighbor as
themselves, the world will change.

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Works Cited
Chan, Francis, and Danae Yankoski. Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God.
Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2008. Print.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV), Containing the Old and New Testaments.
Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Print.
Akin, Daniel. Exalting Jesus in Mark. Nashville: B&H Group, 2014. Print.
Rabinowitz, Lisa (Elisheva). "What Is Love?" Baltimore Jewish Times 04 Oct. 2013: 60.
ProQuest Central. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
Soop, Gary. "The Love of Jesus." Savannah Morning News 17 May 2012: n. pag. ProQuest
Central. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

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