"Love your neighbor" but it does not say to like them

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alitaptap said:
Love vs. Like – How do you tell the difference?
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“Like” is generally more emotional - and transitory - than (Agape) Love, which is a choice, and an obligation - that we love our neighbor as our self.

Peace
James
 
“Love” is a verb. It’s a set of actions. We all control our actions and thus we can all love someone we don’t like.

“Like” is a feeling towards someone. We don’t control our feelings or emotions.

You can love your neighbor by serving them, treating them with respect, etc., without liking them because we control what we do, not how we feel.
 
alitaptap said:
Love vs. Like – How do you tell the difference?
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It’s not so much about mutual feelings as it is about mutual responsibilities. Ideally love is an emotion and an action, but without the action love doesn’t mean much. The commandment obligates us to treat a fellow human being with a certain amount of decency
and wish the best for him spiritually even if he is a conniving-two-faced-backstabbing #@&*.
 
I agree with all of you, it is our duty to love our neighbor as ourselves even when certain things cause us not to “like” what a person may be thinking or doing, it is an active choice to “love” in our behavior towards another that we don’t like. We actively choose to treat them in a way that would please the Father, God, of both of us. We can not help our feelings but we can control our actions.
 
This reminds me of the Gospel of John where Christ said “A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you.”

I have a neighbor who I do not like at all. It’s a personality conflict - (or as I sometimes like to think a personality deficit on his part). But if he or his family were in trouble, I certainly would help them any way I could, and my wife and I have done so in the past to our mutual inconvenience. We do so with charity and no grumbling. That doesn’t mean I want to have beers around the campfire with him. But I do try to love him “as Christ loves me”.

The Lord wouldn’t tell us to do something we couldn’t actually do. That’s why I believe that the “Love” he is referring to is actually ingrained in us whereas the “Like” we are presented with as individuals in relationships is optional.

And love does not end with Death as we are United with Christ(GOD) who IS LOVE.
 
alitaptap said:
Love vs. Like – How do you tell the difference?
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The Hebrew verb often translated as “love” has more to do with loyalty to the covenant and recognizing one’s place in the covenant rather than a positive feeling for someone. Thus, loving your neighbor has means respecting their place as a fellow human being created by God and treating them accordingly. So you’re right, you can “love” someone without actually liking them at all.
 
As others do in this thread, I see “liking” someone as more of an emotional thing and therefore one that I have little control over.

But from the Catholic perspective, “loving” someone (among other things) means treating them in accordance with the Corporal & Spiritual Works of Mercy. Regardless of whether or not I like certain people, I am capable of doing works of mercy for them.
 
One of the good things about this forum is that logic is employed by well informed people and “Love” (Authentic Love) is to will the good of the other as eloquently put in the thread.

I think trying to find the good in people is important to loving the other to overcome resentment. I find it a struggle, especially liking people who have wronged me. People though reflect problems in their own behaviour so when someone is nasty, they’re suffering or they have a major personality issue. Either way it’s important not to feel a sense of superiority but satisfaction in knowing, i.e. with the Logos (logic) of life. I find this comforting. That’s not revelling in my superiority, it’s knowing that it isn’t personal 90% of the time and living to love others as you love yourself.
 
Liking to me is more about seeing what others do and thinking they are doing good things. I don’t like any sinful words or deeds.

Loving is about intent to do as much good thing for others as possible (going the extra mile) and never bad. I see others appearing to do loving things and I like them for it. It’s best to give them the benefit of the doubt that they are intending good for another and are doing things in love.

I suppose like also includes good personality matches and other such things as well; so, I don’t disagree that it has the emotional elements others have said, but I wanted to highlight that it isn’t an either/or comparison. That there is also a lot of overlap and liking should naturally follow observing a loving person.

On the negative side I can dislike someone doing bad to another. We shouldn’t assume anyone hates another (indeed they may intend good and is being loving to the victim), but move to correct the situation. To end the bad result of the victim and correct the error of the perpetrator. I still dislike what they are doing, but love them in seeking their correction.

A conclusion I’m reaching is that emotion should generally follow reasoned observations of people. When emotion does not follow reason there is likely something wrong with our perceiving or feelings of liking at least liking the good things that they do.
 
Publisher said:
To love someone with agape love is to seek their welfare…even above your own…love is a choice.
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I think it’s more correct to say that love is a gift-our choice is in accepting or rejecting the gift-but agape is something we can ask for but not something we can obtain on our own.
 
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