LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF: PROPER LOVE OF SELF
Introduction
In the Gospel of St. Matthew, 22: 36-40 we read, “‘Master, which is the great commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law of the prophets.’”
When we hear the Lord Jesus teaching us about the greatest of the commandments, He explains to us the greatest, of course, is the commandment of love. “Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Many, many sermons have been preached on the subject of loving your neighbor as yourself. I want to focus upon a particular problem that I’ve found working in our particular area of ministry since 1984. Many simply don’t understand the proper place of loving your self with a view to loving your neighbor.
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