Love your Neighbour As Yourself

This is a version of Golden Rule-Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.Jesus taught that you should love God with all your heart,soul,strength,and mind;and that you should love your neighbour as yourself. Mk.12:31" You shall love your neighbour as yourself.There is no other commandment greater than these." First found in the Old Testament.Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate this commandment.

A man was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho.On the way,he was attacked by a gang of robbers.They took away all his belongings,  beat him up and left him there to die.After some time,a priest and a Levite,a servant at the temple both came along the way.When they saw the man bleeding and dying,they were afraid and hurried on their way.

Later,a Samaritan passed the way.When he saw the injured man,he went to him,bandaged his wounds and covered him with his own  cloth.Then he put the man on his donkey and took him to an inn.He hired a room there and looked after him.The next day,the samaritan gave the inn owner two silver coins and said,"Take care of this man.He is injured.If you spend more than what I have given to you,I will repay on my way back.After telling this story,Jesus asked,"What do you think,which of these three was a good neighbour to the injured man?"  "The Samaritan was kind to injured man,"the lawyer replied. That's right,said Jesus, "Then go and be a good neighbour like him."

Loving your neighbour is the first and best choice among the three choices you have with regard to that person next door.The first choice is love.The second is hate and the third is indifference.Let us examine each choice,beginning with the third choice.Perhaps, you don't want to love your neighbour,because he is not good,but you don't want to hate him because you are a good person and you avoid negative emotions.So you are indifferent to your neighbour.But indifference or apathy is a cold emotion.Apathy is as negative as hatred.The line between hatred and apathy is very fine.If you meet your neighbour on the street and you ignore him,it's hardly a good and decent thing to do.

The second choice,hatred,will harm you as much as it hurts your neighbour,which leaves you with the first and the best choice-To love your neighbour. Honestly,loving an irksome neighbour is not as hard as it seems.It simply means respecting the person and thinking of his needs and desires as much as you would your own.

You won't be able to love yourself until you first love your neighbour.Whether we like it or not,a major part of our life will always centre on that of our neighbour's.Ask yourself some questions and you will see from the answers how important your neighbour is for your own peace and happiness.

Lev.19:17-18 " You shall not hate in your heart any one of your kin;you shall reprove your neighbour,or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people,but you shall love your neighbour as yourself:I am the Lord." These verses clearly says the importance of love your neighbour and love one another.

And you can't just stop at loving your immediate neighbour.You have got to love your neighbour's neighbour,too,and your, circle of love gets wider subsuming differences of community,state,nation,continents-encompassing the whole universe and beyond.Your heart is so big and so full of love,that its capacity to love is infinite;it's Divine.Love gives you joy and power and victory and hate brings in sorrow and powerlessness and defeat.

Different religions propound love of your neighbour as an important part of their teaching.But you don't have to be religious person to love your neighbour ,because love of your neighbour is a superb human emotion,not necessarily tied to any creed or religion.

Hindus believe that one should never do to others what would pain oneself;Islam says not one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.The sikh faith asks you to treat others as you would like to be treated.the nature is only good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self is a precept of the Zoroastrian faith.Buddhists say,hurt not others with that which pains yourself.And Confucius said:Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.

Categories: Bible Thoughts Devotional Good Health Good Thoughts happiness

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Social Life

Social life is the part of a person's time spent doing enjoyable things with others.Life style is a composite of motivations,needs,and wants and is influenced by factors such a culture,family,reference groups,and social class.

Personal life is the course of an individual's life,especially when viewed as the sum of personal choices contributing to one's personal identity.

To be able to lead a respectable life in society,there is a necessary condition.And that is,you must become someone who is beneficial to others, a giver or at least a 'no-problem person' as far as others are concerned. Other than these two options,there is no other way for you to lead a respectable life in society.Those who think that there is a third way only go on to create trouble in society and for themselves,too.

Social beings-living or disposed to live in companionship with others or in a community,rather than isolated life.Human beings are social animals,and the tenor of our social life is one of the most important influences on our mental health.

Social life is always based on the principle of give-and take.If you are contributing positively to society will regard you with respect.  And if you think you are not in a position to contribute anything to society,at least you can become a non-problem person for others.

Spiritual life,as something that is often experienced as a source of inspiration in life and it can encompass belief in 'immaterial realities or experiences of the immanent or transcendent nature of the world'.

Give and take is a mechanism inherent to all personal relationships-you cannot expect to receive something if you don't offer on your own turn.Once the balance between give and take is broken,difficulties arise and partners feel they are not getting too much from their relationship.

If you become a giver as far as others are concerned,you are helping society progress.Even if you simply become a no-problem person,you are still playing a social role,by not placing any obstacle in the progress of society.In the former case,you are directly helping society to progress.In the latter case,you are doing this indirectly. 

The real social life of the Christian is enjoyed within the community of his brethren in Christ,and here,as in all the phases of his life,his first consideration is not to be that of pleasing others,but doing the will of God.This,indeed,is the true basis of fellowship in Christ.In a community in which each one is zealously endeavoring to God's will there is bound to be a common tie that binds,for as the apostle says,Jas. 2:1-4 " My brothers and sisters,do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?.For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly,and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in,and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here,please, "while to the one who is poor you say," Stand there ," or,"Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves,and become judges with evil thoughts?.

How to live a the Christian Life. One of the most notable discourses was between Jesus and Nicodemus that he must be born again. Jn.3:3 Jesus answered him,"very truly,I tell you,no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Salvation is the beginning step in living Christian life. Jn.14:6 Jesus said to him,"I am the way,and the truth,and the life.No one comes to the Father except through me."  

Those who are neither givers nor 'non-problem' people only become a burden on society.Although,these people may not be criminals,in terms of the etiquette of human life,they are.The courts of this world will not sentence them to punishment,in the court of nature,they will be considered guilty of an enormous moral crime. 

For mental happiness-minimise expectations,ego, pride and negative thoughts.For Spiritual happiness-recognise your soul as a separate entity from the body.Do not live in the past.Free yourself of memories and experiences.Do not worry about the future. But,plan for it.Help all living beings without any expectations.Meditate regularly and surrender to the supreme soul. 'Be happy always' condition your mind to be happy in any condition.

Categories: Bible Thoughts Good Health Good Thoughts happiness health Perfection

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