“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”—C.S. Lewis
I wrote on this topic a while back and shared a passage I wrote for my son in Lessons for Liam. From time to time, however, I need to remind myself.
In many ways, I believe I have little trouble loving my neighbor. It is, after all, the basis for my faith (John 13:34). The greater challenge for me is to like my “neighbor”. Thankfully, it was never said that we have to “like your neighbor”. Some people, after all, are real jerks—myself (hopefully only on occasion) included.
“I am third”—my God is first, my family and friends are second, and I am third—speaks to the command to love your neighbor. To love someone is to see beyond what you don’t like about them and to remove yourself from the center of the Universe. Love does not require agreement. It does not require anything other than acknowledgement that we are one. As a scientist, this very Spiritual concept is quite clear. We all share the very real energy of Creation. As we look closely—we’re talking quantum physics close—at the physical world, it becomes increasingly spiritual. We consume/absorb/inspire carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and the various elements of the periodic table. At the same time, we excrete/radiate/expire these very same elements that were once us and now become another, only to be passed on to yet another. On the very smallest scale we and the Universe are but forms of vibrating energy, the source of which has and will continue to be argued in philosophical, scientific, and theological circles for millennia. So, with this understanding, “love” is easy.
Unfortunately, this same energy takes the form of ideas. It is the intellectual, emotional, and social personification of these ideas that challenge our ability to love. It is the disharmony of ideas that leads one to hate.
Yes, I disagree with a lot of ideas and, as a consequence, people. I don’t like people. I don’t like the actions people take or don’t take. I can be quite unlikeable, myself. When it comes to ideas, personalities, and the like, I (we) have a simple choice: we can love or we can hate. Love, despite our differences, chooses to work toward unity. Hated, alternatively, chooses to separate. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” (Galatians 13:4-8, NIV). Nowhere does it say love has to like.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!
“Loving your neighbor means many things. It means doing them no harm. It means offering your assistance when you are able. It means giving the gift of your time and resources. It means listening when you want to talk; giving when you want to take. It means yielding to the will of others. It means not judging. It means tolerance. It means patience. It means being kind when you don’t want to be. It means sacrifice. It means forgiveness. Loving your neighbor means acting is such a way as to mutually benefit all people.
Your neighbor is not just the person next door. It is the person across town. It is the person on the other side of the country—on the other side of the world. Your neighbor is male and female. Your neighbor is of all faiths. Your neighbor is of all colors, cultures, and lifestyles. Your neighbor is your friend. Your neighbor is your enemy. Love your neighbor!”—Lessons for Liam