Matthew 22:37-40, “37 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. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself which implies, not mere animal or worldly affection, but love from the highest moral considerations, without self-interest, holy. Our "neighbour" is every one with whom we are concerned, i.e. virtually all men. He is to be loved because he is God’s image and likeness, heir of the same hope as we ourselves, and presented to us as the object on and by which we are to show the reality of our love to God."
[The Pulpit Commentary]
Putting Jesus first is a given as he gave everything that I might be justified before God. In addition to his horrific death on the cross following a severe beating, Jesus went through life under the cloud of illegitimacy. Psalm 69 gives us some insight into his early life and rejection by his siblings. So Jesus first, absolutely.
Putting family ahead of oneself is natural. With the exception of abortion what mother would fail to protect her children, even with her very life? As for friends, there are people in my life as close as family members, so family and friends, second only to Jesus.
What I find difficult is placing the interests of others ahead of my own when they do the same or similar self-destructive things repeatedly resulting in a need. I winner in Quartzsite, AZ, which turns into a huge winter swap meet. As a result, we get many passing thru during the winter. Some get jobs for the winter but many have addictions. It can be difficult to see God’s image and likeness in addicts.
We have a local church whose pastor and members really manifests being third. During the swap meet season they provide a meal every day for those needing a meal as well as showers and clean clothes. Other churches in town help with meal preparation.
In Matthew 25 Jesus talks about the sheep and goat judgment. Verse 40, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." This passage refers to the Jews, Jesus' brethren, specifically and perhaps by extension, generally to the Gentiles. As an aside, our current administration is putting the Jews a far distant third or possibly fourth or fifth. Lots of goats in the administration.
While I support the good work of organizations such as the Voice of the Martyrs and CBN, in my opinion, the same level of need is not nearly as prevalent here in the United States. Perhaps it's pride in the fact that I overcame great obstacles to get a good education resulting job opportunities that I have problems relating to the victim mentality that seems to be growing exponentially here in the United States. I like the concept of Leviticus gleaning.
In summary, Jesus as first, absolutely! Others as second, well, I often fail that one. However, Matthew 22:39 speaks to “as thyself” so perhaps…..
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