Attitude

What is your attitude towards your neighbor?  What are the two greatest commandments?  Read Matthew 22:36-40, “‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.’”

It is easy to say that you love God in this way, but examine yourself and think of the things that you do and the time you spend with your gadgets and the places you go and what you think about the most and compare that to the time you spend with the Lord.  How much time do you spend in prayer or Bible reading or just setting aside time just to spend with the Lord?  How much time do you spend thanking and praising Him?  Are you truly spending time seeking His kingdom or are you conforming to the world and hanging out with the things that are of the world?  Are you really trying to get to know God more each day and are you hiding God’s Word in your heart that you might not sin against Him?  Are you putting the Word into practice like it says in James 1:21-25, “Therefore put away all filthiness and rank growth of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing.”

What about your neighbor, do you really love them?  How do you compare with the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37, “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? How do you read?’ And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. And he said to him, ‘You have answered right; do this, and you will live.’ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed mercy on him.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”

Think about your attitude, what would it be in a situation similar to this one, or any other situation involving your neighbor?  Would your attitude be like the lawyer in this story, just a subject to discuss, or the thieves thinking he was just someone to exploit?  What about the religious men, to them he was a problem to be avoided and to the innkeeper this man was just a means to make money.  The Samaritan, his attitude was so much different, he looked at this man as being someone to be cared for and loved because he saw him as a human being.  (I got some of this from the notes in my King James Bible)  

Love is an action word that usually demands action on our part.  It is not hard to voice the words, “I love you,” but to show it can be much harder and this is the problem with many marriages and also relationships today the words I love you are said but if the real commitment isn’t there then it usually ends in a divorce.  Read what it says in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

What did Jesus say to the lawyer? He said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’  Something to think about!  May you have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!  And don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord for He is worthy!!