Does anyone else struggle with "loving" people?

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Here’s what the Baltimore Catechism Third Edition says about loving our neighbor:

“102. Q. What does loving you neighbor as yourself mean?
A. Loving my neighbor as myself does not mean that I must love him as much as myself; but that I must love him with the same kind of love, that is, I must never do to my neighbor to do to me; but, on the contrary do unto others as I would have others do unto me.”
 
semper_catholicus said:
“102. Q. What does loving you neighbor as yourself mean?

A. Loving my neighbor as myself does not mean that I must love him as much as myself; but that I must love him with the same kind of love, that is, I must never do to my neighbor to do to me; but, on the contrary do unto others as I would have others do unto me.”
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That makes sense.
 
Yes, it certainly is. However, Church’s teaching and word of Scripture do help us to some extent in how to live that out.

Even if we cannot agree with them, we can do it in a Christian way - always loving, gentle as Jesus himself is, and wise.

Sometimes of course these things need to be learned and used to. The Holy Spirit however can give us that extra strength and wisdom to do it as we get closer to God.

God bless.
 
Very true, thank you for thoughts on this. 😃

There are areas of Scripture where Jesus wasn’t so gentle though, like when he lost his temper and flipped the tables (one of my favorite parts, I must admit).
 
And he didn’t hold his tongue either when he reprimanded the Pharisees.

Of course, wisdom dictates what the situation maybe and for us to act accordingly. As long as we do not use this as an excuse to be violent and sharp tongue when the situations do not warrant it.

That we can always be the gentle and the sacrifying Jesus.
 
I get ya. I tend to have a grim, dark, fatalistic outlook on humanity. Perhaps that’s why Warhammer 40,000 appeals to me. I’m not even that good with love one-on-one.
 
Yes I completely understand the issue with loving people. I have struggled with this on occasion. Personally I think it is important to try and look at the person, individually. Let’s face it, there is a lot wrong with the world we live in today. We read about it, we hear about it and we see it. At time is seems people are constantly doing terrible things. This can make us lose faith in people in general and not be so keen to love them. When you deal with people individually though, you suddenly see more of a connection there, even if you have your differences.

Hehe I actually think this would be good advice to offer those with racist tendencies. You might think you dislike a particular race or ethnicity, but when you deal with an individual person from that race and find that they are a decent person and you actually quite like them, suddenly your general negative feelings begin to evaporate.

I generally find people can be more likeable individually than when in a group. You put a mass of people together, they can behave very strangely. You get somebody on their own, suddenly they are very different.
 
“Love” means “to help”.

You will be asked “who did you help?”.
 
returninghome31 said:
There are areas of Scripture where Jesus wasn’t so gentle though, like when he lost his temper and flipped the tables (one of my favorite parts, I must admit).
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It’s important to remember that even when Jesus was angry with what a person said or did, he still loved that person and would (and did) give His life for them.
His anger was with the action, not with the person.

It’s similar to how a loving parent can be so angry at some big misbehavior by their child, they are just boiling over and going ballistic. But they still love their child so much they’d die for him or her. In fact, their anger is motivated a lot by their love because they are truly trying to help their child be the best person they can be and stay safe.
 
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Second this.
Yes with the general feeling of love… I have problems. Especially with some people so I would say I have problems with feelings of general love for people in general. So the only thing that helps me get through this is discern what I do vs. what I want to do or say. Ideally we should also only think lovely thoughts about everyone. But what I can control is what I do.
Sometimes just being quiet and not fight back is what I dedicate as loving people. Hope it’s right what I am doing.
 
I need to read and pray your post every morning because I have trouble getting past people’s actions and what I perceive as their INTENTIONS which I can’t really know… it makes me think less of them and more of ME! I really appreciated your post!
 
But is that loving our neighbor as Jesus loves us or as we love ourselves???
 
OP, thank you for this thread. I really feel the Holy Spirit at work here… 👼
 
petra22 said:
But is that loving our neighbor as Jesus loves us or as we love ourselves???
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Allegra said, “We are called to serve others and be kind and just. We don’t have to enjoy their company or approve of their life choices.”

Jesus definitely served others. He was kind and just.

Jesus definitely did NOT approve of the life choices of all the people he loved, served and was kind and just with.
In fact he disapproved strenously of a lot of sinful acts, even while he loved the persons committing them.

And I don’t think Jesus enjoyed the company of every single person he loved either. He certainly doesn’t seem to have enjoyed hanging out with the Pharisees and Sadducees who were always trying to find fault with Him and acted like hypocrites in general. He had definite preferences for spending his time with people like his mother, his Apostles, and Mary, Martha and Lazarus. We are often called upon to love people who we would not choose to be around for sheer enjoyment, such as ill, cranky old relatives.

So yes, I think what Allegra said is mirroring how Jesus actually acted as a human on earth. And although we strive to be even as perfect as Jesus, we will always fall short. Even the greatest saint was no Jesus.

With respect to how we love ourselves, I think “love your neighbor as yourself” means to be as cognizant of their welfare as we are of our own. If we have food to eat and the neighbor doesn’t, then share with them. Don’t do something hurtful to the neighbor that we wouldn’t like done to us. And so on.
 
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MonteRCMS said:
“Love” means “to help”.

You will be asked “who did you help?”.
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I like the way you put it. “Help” is a lot easier to digest, process and make sense of. The term “love” just does not resonate with me. I may just be caught up in semantics right now, perhaps that’s my issue.
 
“Therefore do not pray for this people,
nor lift up a cry or prayer for them,
for I shall not listen when they cry to Me
in the time of their disaster.
“Therefore, do not pray for this people [of Judah]
or lift up a cry or entreaty for them
or make intercession to Me, for I do not hear you.

Book of Jeremiah
 
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