Jesus tells us very clearly that “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt. 22:39). What did Jesus mean by this text? How do we interpret and apply it in a way that reflects what true Christianity should be about?

I believe this is the foundation of the “Golden Rule” do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Treat others as you would like to be treated. If you love yourself, you will want the best for yourself, you want to live the best life…to the fullest…and take care of yourself, be healthy. You would want to advance in life and be successful. You wouldn’t want to do anything that would be hurtful or put you in danger. Well, my friends, this passage is saying that that is exactly how we should treat our neighbors, people in our spheres of influence. We should have compassion for others, putting ourselves in their shoes, care for people and love unconditionally. As Christians, we wouldn’t think how we can advance at the expense of others, we would try to help others advance as well. We would want others to have a relationship with Christ because He’s what’s best for us. If we all treated each other that way there would be no crimes or deaths, because people would care too much and think about the impact of the death to the family. We would have so much peace in our hearts.

How would you relate Jesus’ admonition above to the following texts?

Philippians 2:5, 8
One should have the same mind set as Christ. We should aim to practice humility and altruism, being willing to die for our fellow brethren. I am pretty confident that there’s someone in your family that you love so much you would be willing to die for him/her. We should take that same depth of love and offer it to everyone we come in contact. That’s what Christ did, and it’s what He expects from us.

2 Corinthians 5:14, 15
Christ’s love is the compelling factor that should move us to live our lives for Him, who died for us. Therefore, since He died for us, we have all died…to ourselves. We no longer belong to the world, but to the One who redeemed us and paid a high price for us. In return, we ought to live our lives for Him, Jesus, in doing so we are to serve others along the way.

1 Corinthians 10:31-33
Glorify God in our actions (or in whatever you do). We do so by seeking that which is in the best interest of others and not our own. Doing our best not to offend others and be considerate. Thus, many may be saved.

1 Peter 1:13-16
We are no longer ignorant as we have the opportunity to know Christ. Therefore, there is no excuse for behaving in our former, lustful ways. God has called us to His fold. Now, since He is holy we should also be holy and demonstrate it in all our conduct. That includes holy thinking and actions, i.e. putting others before you. That is the expectation.

All living beings were created to worship Christ. It’s part of our design, our genetic makeup. We are at our prime when we serve others. God created us for relationships, with people and with Christ Himself! Selfish living isn’t really living. There’s no true joy or happiness in living only for yourself. It’s so sad that people are taught to “do you” or “get my own” and be selfish in getting through life, even at the expense of others. Want to experience Love like Jesus? Take time to live for others, help someone, anyone, and you will feel a difference in your life. You will feel what it’s really like to be a Christian.

Dwell more on what it means to love yourself in the Christian sense. How easy is it for this kind of love to degenerate into a self-destructive self-centeredness? What’s the only way to protect yourself from this trap?

In the world we live today, it can be very easy to stray from the love of self in the Christian sense, to love of self as the world encourages. One can become so self-absorbed, looking to constantly please self and seeking self-profit that we forget about others to a point that we just don’t care about them. One must remember that loving oneself is acknowledging the worth and value we have in God’s eyes and understanding that He loves all humanity. Therefore we must treat others with the same detail of care as we would treat ourselves, if not more!