The Second Greatest Resolution

You may think it strange that I think there are two great resolutions.  After all, isn’t everyone unique, and each one of us has different situations, needs, and desires? Some of us need to lose weight, some need to be kinder, more loving, patient, or optimistic. All of us need to read our Bible more, pray more, and seek to be obedient. Well, the solution is in two resolutions. Yesterday I wrote about number one, today I will remind us of number two. Jesus himself said these are the two greatest commandments because if you do both you have covered every aspect of life. The first is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second greatest thing you can do is love your neighbor as yourself. If you do the first correctly you will not have any problem with the second. The second is making a practical application of the first. Jesus gave it to us to remind us that when we are heavenly-minded, loving God with all our heart, we will be of great earthly good as we love and deal with others.

Matthew 22:37-38 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”

Matthew 22:39-40 “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

The second commandment hinges on the first. If we love God, the way we are supposed to, we will love others as He loves them. He loves with purity. There are no hidden agendas with God’s love. His love is completely for our benefit. He does not need us, for God needs nothing. We have a need to be loved and to love, a need to have hope in something, and we have a need for peace. Jesus provides all of that for us. Not for His benefit, but ours. Is this how you love others? If you can say yes, then you are pointing them to Jesus, because He offers these things in the purest form. We are seeking what is best for them, not for what the relationship will benefit us.

We will love them better than we love ourselves. When you love someone as yourself you don’t want to hurt them. Selfish desires go out the window. You are truly happy when they are happy. You learn to enjoy things they enjoy because you see the delight in their eyes when they do them. You truly are happiest when they are happy. When we love others better than ourselves things are never about us.

When I read this command, I can’t help but think of Philippians 2:3-4. We are told to do nothing through strife or for our own glorification. We are to prefer others above ourselves and this is totally the opposite of what the world teaches. We as Christians, teach such a double standard when we teach our kids to “not take anything off anyone,” but then tell them to be like Jesus. Jesus never thought of himself in an arrogant way. He was God in the flesh, yet He was the greatest servant of all.

Philippians 2:3-4 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

I think we need to take a second look at both commandments and acknowledge how we are not keeping them. You can’t fix something if you don’t know it’s broken. This verse teaches us to empty ourselves of pride. Nothing we have or do is because of ourselves. God gives us all the abilities and provides the opportunities we have. Only by His grace do we receive anything. Oh, we boast about what we have done but the truth is our next breath depends on God giving it. If there is anything, we have done that has merit it’s ultimately because of Him. We are not to exalt ourselves. I Peter 5:6 teaches us to humble ourselves, and in due time God will exalt us. Society teaches “self-esteem,” but God teaches our value is in Him. We are not worth something because of anything we have done, we are worth something because He placed the value of our lives above the value of His Son, by giving Him to die for us to be redeemed back to Him. This is a hard one to keep because we are sinful creatures, seeking what we want when we want it. We all fail in this area, but it is still a command to love others above ourselves and put their well-being ahead of our own.

The only way to keep this resolution is to understand the sinful nature of putting self, first. We need to see all sin as a rebellion against God and very painful to Him. It is a dying to self, daily, and living to Him, daily.

It’s not a matter of understanding how it all works, so that I don’t get taken advantage of, or mistreated. It’s a matter of trusting God and His word. He will do what He says He will. He will always take care of me and love me. He will bless me when I obey, even when I can’t see it. Evaluate yourself as you enter the new year. Look deep within your heart and see what really motivates you. Then it will be easier to totally trust. Love others as you love yourself. Serve as if it were Jesus himself because if you follow Colossians 3:23 it is Him.