Article October 15, 1984 Issue

To love "the other person"

PAUL STEVENS BASILE

Would it be just a little easier to love a neighbor, a colleague, or even an enemy if that person were, say, a bit less selfish, or a little more considerate, or not quite so irritable? If he or she would just get organized, or take a more practical approach to things—or "at least learn to listen to me, to see the good sense and wisdom of my ideas ...."

Well, it might be easier to love the other person "if only," but, then again, it might not. Self-righteousness (even if my "self" is right!) and love do not mix well; humility and love do.

Christ Jesus didn't say the neighbor, or brother, to be loved would have to change before our responsibility to love him would come into play. His teachings, rather, suggest the need for great humility on our part in forgiving and loving.

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