Thinx 81: Love and Harm

Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

— Romans 13:10 (NKJV)

This doesn't mean that if you refrain from harming your neighbour, then you've fulfilled the law. Rather, having loved your neighbour in word and action, the sum of these does good to your neighbour rather than harm. The previous verse gives more context.

For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

— Romans 13:9 (NKJV)

To love your neighbour as yourself works like this: When your body is hungry, do you feed it? When your body is in danger, do you protect it? You are demonstrating by feeding and protecting youself, a love for yourself. In the same way, if your neighbour is hungry, feed him, and if he is in danger, protect him.

We all love ourselves -- we all seek to eat, drink, stay comfortable, and stay safe. It is extremely rare to find anyone who willing seeks opportunities to starve to death. All the things that we would have for ourselves in this regard, seek also for the neighbour. This is what it means to love others as you love yourself.

It is not enough just to avoid harming. One must actively pursue loving.

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2015

Thinx 71: Lusts

"... and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." Romans 13.14b It's interesting how our immediate response is to think purely in terms of sexual lusts. But there's more to lust than that:  But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction. 1 Timothy 6:9 We cannot put on Christ, make no provision for our sexual lusts and yet blithely go on making provision for the others. All lusts, all foolish and harmful desires, need to be named for what they are and no provision whatsoever made for their fulfillment.

Thinx 70: Do no harm

The world says, "do no harm" which in the main means "do nothing, good or otherwise." It can even be taken as far as "live and let die", which may be what people are thinking when they stand idly by and watch others get mugged, raped or murdered. Far better is the commandment in Romans 13:10: Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.  There is something that is better than inactivity: selfless love, seeking the best for the neighbour; non-random, deliberately planned and executed actions of beauty, kindness and compassion.