Love your neighbour as yourself

https://odb.org/MY/2023/07/03/love-your-neighbor-3

Leviticus 19:18 contains God’s commandment to the Israelites to love your neighbour as yourself. There were a series of commandments starting from verse 9, including the concept not to be too efficient in harvesting so that there is a little left for the poor and the foreigner. The divine instructions continue, and among these is not to rob or defraud your neighbour, do not show partiality for the great but judge your neighbour fairly, do not spread slander among your people, and do not do anything that endangers the life of your neighbour. It goes on to say – not to hate a fellow Israelite in your heart, rebuke your neighbour frankly so you do not share in their guilt and finally but not the least, do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as yourself.

The context of the series of instructions in Leviticus 19 is harmony and unity among the people, the Israelites – how they should treat one another, including the foreigner who lives among them. But a notable difference is that these instructions do not extend to others beyond the nation of Israel. For example, to the Amalekites, the Moabites or the Edomites, the Israelites’ traditional enemies in Canaan.

However, when Jesus reiterated the Leviticus 19:18 commandment in the Gospel (Matthew 22:36) that you should love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul and mind and then to love your neighbour as yourself, Jesus spoke of people in general and He meant it to include our enemies. No more a question of communal harmony but a deeper spiritual meaning that basically distinguishes believers from non-believers as people who practice “right side up” living. We are the light and the salt of the world. We give light to darkness. We give colour, life, meaning, and purpose to an otherwise spiritually lifeless and dead world. Although we are in the world, we are of heaven.

What’s the message to us today? I believe Jesus is saying to us that as much as the Old Covenant remains relevant, much of it is already superseded by His teachings and concepts in the New Covenant. The standards are much higher and the context different and wider. While the Old Testament was more concerned with the actual natural life of the Israelites on earth (often looked at from the perspective of the nation of Israel), the New Testament focuses more on our spiritual journey here on earth to ensure that we are on the right track and destination to a life of eternity to be lived with God and Christ.

Thus, if we apply Malachi 3:10 and give unto God like the Israelites gave their first fruits to God for the people of the Temple (the Levites who served the spiritual needs of the Israelites then and didn’t get a landed inheritance from the LORD to earn a living), the floodgates of heaven that will be opened will not necessarily be physical monetary blessings in return. But surely we will be storing our riches and treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:9-12) as Jesus taught, even as we do so. Thus, if we have wealth, giving unto God and sharing it around (including to the poor and foreigner) is probably the easiest way for us to store up our treasures in heaven!