Why do we not really love our neighbour?

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**why do we not really love our neighbour?
we are told in the 10 commandments in Nr. 2 to love our neighbour. Jesus told us in Matth 22:37-40 that there are but two commandments; which are first, to love God who created us for the one and only purpose, that we might live with Him in His kingdom for ever, and second, to love our next. Jesus even pointed out that this second one is of no less importance.
Do we do so?
Let’s be honest.
Don’t we love anybody – as long as we don’t have too close contacts? Don’t we try to avoid nearer contacts even here in forums like this, where people hide behind nicks and anonymous PM’s?
What are we afraid of? Don’t we trust our next? If so, how could we love him/her?
Something is rotten in the state of our Christianity.
**
 
Bruno_Schulz said:
**why do we not really love our neighbour?
we are told in the 10 commandments in Nr. 2 to love our neighbour. Jesus told us in Matth 22:37-40 that there are but two commandments; which are first, to love God who created us for the one and only purpose, that we might live with Him in His kingdom for ever, and second, to love our next. Jesus even pointed out that this second one is of no less importance.
Do we do so?
Let’s be honest.
Don’t we love anybody – as long as we don’t have too close contacts? Don’t we try to avoid nearer contacts even here in forums like this, where people hide behind nicks and anonymous PM’s?
What are we afraid of? Don’t we trust our next? If so, how could we love him/her?
Something is rotten in the state of our Christianity.
**
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Hi Bruno,
I have always had trouble with this question as well but in recent times and probably the result of praying about it I have found an answer that works for me.
What I have decided is one way to love those whom I neither know nor care for is simply to wish them well in their lives and ask that God listen to their prayers. This is what I do for strangers as well as aquaintences. I don’t have to speak to these people but rather I speak to God about them.
For those who mean to cause me or my family harm, I ask God to tap them hard enough on the shoulder that they get His message which is to love their neighbor (me). I also try to remember to pray they have a good life as well which can be hard to do towards people who present themselves as the “enemy.”
For those I love such as family and friends, I ask God to help me be the best I can be to each of them.
This is the best I can do right now as far as loving my neighbor. Perhaps I will find a better way as time goes by.

Peace!
Amy
 
I love people too much, as crazy as that might sound. I have a weakness for assuming responsibility for other peoples’ problems. I get taken advantage of quite a lot. My kindness is often mistaken for weakness. I don’t consider myself weak at all.
 
Hi Bruno
Hi Amy

I’d like to personally welcome you both to CAF.

Bruno you posed a very good question. I’d like to add my own opinion to the mix.

Why don’t people love?
  • Rejection- Afraid of not being liked or loved back.
  • Money
  • Fear
  • Revenge
  • Disrespect
  • Pride
  • Not one of my kind
  • Apathy
  • Play it safe
  • Inadquency
  • Greed
  • Selfishness
  • Cost
  • Hiding behind the law.
How do we respond in love? Here are a few simple ways.
  • Speak kindly, gently
  • Listen
  • Politeness, courtesy, being civil
  • Respectful
  • Be understanding
  • Share your talents,gifts with others
  • See Christ in others
  • Being thoughtful
  • Give words of encouragement
  • Give a handshake
  • Write a letter, or send a card
  • Call someone on the phone
  • Give a loving glance
  • A simple Hello
 
Because there are a lot of jerks out there that prejudge and hate others for no reason. A lot of people exhibit no humanity, kindness or good intent. How do you love that? :confused:
 
I think that we see too much of ourselves in our neighbor, and we know how bad we are… Looking for the good in others goes against our fallen, sinful nature.
 
**
Don’t we – instead of acting ourselves leave things too often to God in asking God PLEASE HELP HIM
where we should do so?

Isn’t it a lot easier to ask God then to act in loving care?
We DO have to speak to people. Let’ not wait, until they are friendly first. Don’t most suicides occur because “nobody listened to me, they couldn’t care less”. It’s murder, if that suicice was committed becouse of us.

Jesus said from the cross over those who punished Him to death, His forgiveness. Do we do so in following Christ as we are told?
If we excuse ourselves with „there is a lot prejudgement out there and hate for no reason and no humanity, kindness or good intent“ - we have a false sight of life and surely that excuse will not be accepted before God. When our neighbour too reflects this false thought of ours upon us, any love is buried before it’s given a chance to rise.

Even when our kindness will be mistaken for weakness, so what?! It’s God we’ll be responsible to – not humans.
A friend of mine in one of his clubs had been mobbed for a long time by certain people. For years he in spite was ever so friendly to this mobbing guys and finally they felt ashamed – never of course admitting such, but today, they are very friendly to him. So: It’s us who must give the Christian example.

I myself even in the sauna where I am rather frequently, (and where I meet both, out priest and the lordmayer) very often speak very firmly about my Christanity to people I never saw before. I tell anyone, that to be Christian is the fundament of my life. In the many years I did so, I hardly ever had any objection – more astonishing and nodding from people. (the talk about Christianity grows mostly off the fact of the murdering of my son in 1997)

Do alike, confirm your believe in God, and you will find it will be so in your circles too.

And we really will be full of joy, when we notice, that strangers are happily disturbed, receiving your kindness. That might quite often simply consist out of a smile and some heartfelt warm words.

In 1992 I was in the USA with the family of a wellknown and reputable brain doctor who leads a hospital. I asked him, who lives next door to his house. He didn’t know, even though he lives there for 30 years and there was no fence between the estates.
Let’s tear down that fence or even wall between us and give our neighbour our trust, before he does so. What does is matter when we will disappointed sometimes. All the greater will be our joy on those, who are (without telling us) thankful for our kindness and eventually give it back.

Let’s start today with the first step, in giving true smile out of a loving Christian heart to anybody we see!
Yours
Bruno-Maria-Schulz at Krippenfiguren.com

You know where the @ must be set 😉 - to avoud spam I put an at instead on @
**
 
**Thanks for two mails that said roughly the same:
  1. shouldn’t we pray for others?
  2. Love is not omnipresent in right contradistinction to suspiciousness.
  3. Don’t make anyone feel guilty if someone commits suicide.
Let me answer apart from my answering mails, here too.

1: Of course we must pray for others. No question about that! But we also must ask ourselves, if we have done what we could to help. Of course we can’t help the whole world, but we indeed can within our small circle and great help is warm and good words and understanding – both resulting of love.

2: Naturally we too feel a lot of mistrust and rejection. But what else can we expect, if we do not give our love first. When each of two waits for the other to be friendly first, friendliness, trusting an love, as well as help will fade away altogether.

3: That’s ever so serious, and we shouldn’t push that aspect away from us. Most people who didn’t die after a committed suicide, said; “nobody understands me – nobody will speak to me other that small talk”.
Everyone of us without any exception, could have spend healing words in real love to a lot of people, and we did not, because we said: IT DOESN’T CONCERN ME – none of my business – why should I care!
Here we are; fully committing the sin on Gods second commandment.
**
 
In the words of Linus Van Pelt, "I love mankind. It’s people I can’t stand!’
 
** Let’s hope Van Pelt didn’t mean what he said there, as it’s rubbish and far off the love we OWN to our next. God created mankind. Are we liable to say to God; what you created was a terrible flop and mistake!? Its not the people we can’t stand, it’s far more so ourselves who behave unbearably **
 
I can’t really answer this question because I don’t have the total true love.
 
**
water said:
I can’t really answer this question because I don’t have the total true love.
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But you are true, else you woun’t commit suchlike thing.
Still - I do not believe that anyone doesn’t have inside him “total true love”. This love towards others is, as we are “out of God” congenitally in uns. The thing is, it quite often became very badly disappointed, which hurt our soul harschly.
But then remember Jesus Christ, how often He was disappointed; not only from those around Him, who at first screamed Hosianna and later Cruzify Him. No; also from me and you and all of us. Did Jesus come and punish the world for this? Did He withdraw from us? Did Got forbid us to pray? No! On the contrary, He gave us even more love.
When St.Peter asked Jesus how often we must forgive those who sin against us – mightbe 7 times? Jesus answered in Mt 18:22: NO, NOT 7 TIMES, BUT 77 times 7.
So; remembering our sin not giving to our next the love we owe him, refusing our next so often, we really should make a beginning, and finally do as we are told by God and repeated by Jesus. Be kind and have and pass on some of this love God donated to us.
This might be rebuffed or misunderstood many a time though. But let us ask ourselves, if our pride really forbids us to be friendly all the same and just in spite. Jesus was! Are we more, with bigger pride?

Surely in heaven we will meet many who’s soul we offended without even taking any notice that this was so.
Let’s stop this and obey Gods first requirement in the second commandment.
**
 
Bruno, I have learned to smile and said hi to my co-workers. 😃 At workplace, I don’t know all of them, but I am shy to say hi, but I am learning to do it from a help of a friend.

Things seem to be easy for many, but for some, it is very difficult, and it takes time and lots of prayer to do what we are supposed to do.
 
Mark_Robert said:
Because there are a lot of jerks out there that prejudge and hate others for no reason. A lot of people exhibit no humanity, kindness or good intent. How do you love that? :confused:
Click to expand...
As was said (by somebody :o )** Don’t bother so much with loving the other person, just act towards them in love.**

Or something like that.

Sheeniac
I think that we see too much of ourselves in our neighbor, and we know how bad we are… Looking for the good in others goes against our fallen, sinful nature.

Ah, but surely you know someone, perhaps just one person, who let’s you see the goodness in humanity? One person who inspires you to be better, who by their very presence makes you feel like an altogether different and grander person?

If not, then perhaps you’ve never been in love:p Which isn’t to say that that’s all there is to Love, by no means. But I’ve noted that were all the world to be in love, there would be no wars nor sin of any sort.

Would you say that around 50% of the wrongs done are done out of lack of self-respect, and the other half done out of a lack of respect towards anyone else?

It’s difficult to say where one starts and the other ends, and I feel that a person can’t have one without the other (self-respect and respect for others, I mean).
 
There’s really nothing like teaching teenagers that will expose the hazards of ‘loving your neighbor’ to excess. As a high school teacher, I get taken to the cleaners the second I show the kids I really like them. The hardest part of my job is hiding my love of humanity behind the mask of the proverbial ‘strict teacher’ . 👍
 
I fail miserably in loving my neighbhour lately. It’s because I’m not saintly enough. I believe you’re supposed to strive for sanctity ( union with the will of God ). The holier you become the more you become like God. God is love.
 
**
water said:
I have learned to smile and said hi to my co-workers. 😃 At workplace, I don’t know all of them, but I am shy to say hi, but I am learning to do it from a help of a friend.
Click to expand...
Great! Let’s this friend be Jesus. He is and He told us and He lived as so he spoke – loving. Loving strange persons, strange in behaviour as in unknown to us, doesn’t mean you have to hug them and invite them all for dinner in your house, but it simply means to keep in mind, that this person in the eye of God might be a lot more distinguished than we, plus the fact, that to those strangers we too are a stranger, thy too appraise before greeting. I looked the word appraise up – it might be wrong. What about if we stop “appraising” people, before we pay them respect!? Respect in the way – “oh, this person might be nearer God than I am”.
Even when we have to notice that this person behaves like a twerp. Might be he is unpleasant, only because he was so often disappointed by other people – in other words us, that means, we hardened his/her soul.

Just in spite then and more than with friendly people, we ought to be ever so kind towards those disappointed. Jesus was even loving to those who where spitting at Him and slapping and ridiculed Him, putting a thorncrown on his head and thuds him, finally crucified Him.

The least we can do to make amends for this, it to trust each other, to love each other in obeying this commandment and to give a smile and a heartfelt hello and some kind words to anyone we meet. It will thankfully come back – after a while of surprise.

And friends, let me say, since I act trusting and friendly towards anyone I meet, my life changed completely, for it comes back. Not right away. Sometimes people are simply surprised and look at me in asking “do I know him??? – Do I have to be friendly too???” Its very funny sometimes. But after a while, even people who where quite beastly before, change completely. Ha – another success again I might think. Truly it helps me as well as this person a lot.
And really. I myself and my friends who do alike we are the very opposite of “saintly” indeed. But we know, that when we obey the law of the Lord, we not only do it to obedient and be loved by God and finally live with God in His kingdom, but for a far better living of ourselves here in out of a sudden, having a lot of new true friends.
We started this “campaign” when we first discovered, that mostly those we paid little respect to in our minds – that this people mostly are highly respected in the mind of God, and in heaven will be far above us.

I know that’s a dreadful English. Sorry, but I hope you all who took the awkwardness to read this, understood in a way.

**
 
Some thoughts.

Jesus spoke about two commandments being greatest for man, but can these same commandments have a greatest meaning for God also?

God the Father loves all that he is with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength.
God the Father loves each and every one of us as he loves himself?

Jesus lived his life as a man by the greatest commandments of God. But after his death and resurrection does Jesus continue to love each and every one of us as he loves himself?

Although I cannot make any claims for truth; the greatest commandments do not seem out of place when searching for a meaning of Jesus the Son of God. Maybe there are ways to test for meaning by asking some questions; we talk about God’s infinite love for us, but how could God love each one of us infinitely more than he loves himself?

In a way, God loves us more than he loves himself, because he was willing to do what was good for us but not good for him (send his Son to die). In a sort of contradicting way, God loves himself more than us, because he knows that he is the greatest being and retains the power of heaven and hell.

If God really did love me as he loves himself; what kind of a burden would I be to God. If I did not sin it would be easier for God to love me; but every time I sin does God forgive me so that he may continue loving me as he loves himself? In order for God to persist loving me in this way he would need to keep forgiving me many big sins and many repeated sins?

Jesus on the cross said forgive them Father for they know not what they are doing. In many ways I look on Jesus saying this directly to me. Does the death and resurrection of Jesus hang on the greatest commandments?

In order for me to love my neighbours as I love myself, should I forgive them each time they harm me in some way? If I don’t forgive them; how can I continue to love them as I love myself? If you stole from me should I forgive you, if you punched me should I forgive you again, if you ran off with my wife should I forgive you again?
At what point should I stop loving you as I love myself? If I stop loving my neighbour as I love myself because he has hurt me in some way, do I disobey the greatest commandments?

I am a Catholic and if another Catholic harmed my child should I forgive him because he is a Catholic? Is it easier for me to forgive others if they are also Catholic? What if the person harming my child in the same way is an atheist, Muslim, Anglican, Hindu or Jew? Should that make any difference to me, should I also forgive them and keep on loving them as I love myself?

When I harm my neighbour; do I make it more difficult for my neighbour to carry on loving me as he loves himself?

It seems the greatest commandments place a huge burden on me; if I strive to live my life through them. Like Jesus I would need to continually forgive right up to death.

What kind of a burden do we place on God when we harm each other, how much and how often would God have to forgive me in order that I might achieve salvation.

Eric
 
**I fear, the „some thoughts“ of Eric, bear some shortcomings:

God does not „love himself“, but God simply IS (I AM WHO I AM), and let’s be thankful for it , that Go is good and loving, and not like the Greek saw their many gods; with all goodies and badies an manners mankind holds on to.
God loves us, every single human in the world not because He loves Himself, but because He is good and love Himself. He did not HAVE to create us, and He could easily have destroyed us completely, instead of letting us crucify Him (in the form of Jesus). As God loves the World, Jesus loves the world, as Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God the Father is ONE in the Holy Trinity.

If God had not taken the sins of the world upon Him and deleted them thus far, that we avoid going to hell in any case, and now only go there if we sin again to that amount, we all had nothing but this life now, and hell was our non-remediable destination. This burden He took, is the absolute demonstration of God’s love to you and me and anybody He created and put to life.
God though doesn’t HAVE TO forgive over and over again!
Yes, we have to forgive over and over again. Don’t wait – you could die before you have forgiven and it’ll be to late then.
You can not let your neighbour go on hurting you, you must tell him to stop this doing, best would be, to ask WHY he does so. In any case it’s better to withdraw, than react with harmful doing to his body or soul. But forgiving is command of God in any case what so ever…

My son was murdered 1997 when he was 26. Unsolved case. I don’t know who it was. My wife and I do NOT HATE this person. If I’d know him, I’d forgive him. We did forgive the unknown person.

NO! You should NOT forgive because the offender is a Catholic, but you must forgive, because the committer is a human, created by God, and might be even greater in Gods eye than we ourselves. Religion in this case, makes no difference at all.
**
 
Bruno_Schulz said:
**

Great! Let’s this friend be Jesus. He is and He told us and He lived as so he spoke – loving. Loving strange persons, strange in behaviour as in unknown to us, doesn’t mean you have to hug them and invite them all for dinner in your house, but it simply means to keep in mind, that this person in the eye of God might be a lot more distinguished than we, plus the fact, that to those strangers we too are a stranger, thy too appraise before greeting. I looked the word appraise up – it might be wrong. What about if we stop “appraising” people, before we pay them respect!? Respect in the way – “oh, this person might be nearer God than I am”.
Even when we have to notice that this person behaves like a twerp. Might be he is unpleasant, only because he was so often disappointed by other people – in other words us, that means, we hardened his/her soul.

Just in spite then and more than with friendly people, we ought to be ever so kind towards those disappointed. Jesus was even loving to those who where spitting at Him and slapping and ridiculed Him, putting a thorncrown on his head and thuds him, finally crucified Him.

The least we can do to make amends for this, it to trust each other, to love each other in obeying this commandment and to give a smile and a heartfelt hello and some kind words to anyone we meet. It will thankfully come back – after a while of surprise.

And friends, let me say, since I act trusting and friendly towards anyone I meet, my life changed completely, for it comes back. Not right away. Sometimes people are simply surprised and look at me in asking “do I know him??? – Do I have to be friendly too???” Its very funny sometimes. But after a while, even people who where quite beastly before, change completely. Ha – another success again I might think. Truly it helps me as well as this person a lot.
And really. I myself and my friends who do alike we are the very opposite of “saintly” indeed. But we know, that when we obey the law of the Lord, we not only do it to obedient and be loved by God and finally live with God in His kingdom, but for a far better living of ourselves here in out of a sudden, having a lot of new true friends.
We started this “campaign” when we first discovered, that mostly those we paid little respect to in our minds – that this people mostly are highly respected in the mind of God, and in heaven will be far above us.

I know that’s a dreadful English. Sorry, but I hope you all who took the awkwardness to read this, understood in a way.

**
Click to expand...
Bruno, I like what you wrote and it is easy for me to understand. Thank you and I would share this with my friend at church especially with the guy that help me with saying hello to others. Yes, I do notice that he gets along with everybody very easily even the ones whom he met for the first time. 🙂

God bless!
 
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