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The slippery slope of stereotypes—Say no!
I love reading the story, found in Matthew, chapter 22, of the lawyer asking Jesus about the greatest commandment. Jesus’ answer never ceases to amaze me: “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” (verses 37, 38). He goes on: “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (verse 39).
Depending on which translation you read, Jesus says this second commandment is “like unto” the first one (King James Version), “equally important” (New Living Translation), or “exactly like it” (International Standard Version). That part makes me pause and reflect: that loving my neighbor is as important as loving God. How could that be?
At one point I asked myself: How can you love God completely, if you cannot love His creation as His true reflection? It occurred to me that all the other commandments are fulfilled in obeying this second great commandment. Loving humanity is a magnificent achievement. It embraces everything else: If you really love others as yourself, you don’t kill, you don’t steal, you don’t bear false witness, you don’t covet.
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