Obligated to Love

“For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.” Romans 13:9-10

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I tend to complicate things. I have been known to give a ten paragraph answer to my husband, who asked a yes or no question. Fortunately, he is very patient with me and will let me rant, hoping that I will eventually sum up my answer. 

God didn’t give the ten commandments to complicate things, but sometimes our understanding of them is complicated. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he gives the simplified version. “They are all summed up in this one commandment,” Paul says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

It’s like this: If you love your wife, you won’t cheat on her. You won’t commit murder if you love others as yourself. If you love your neighbor, you won’t take what belongs to them. You won’t even wish what they had was yours. 

I wonder what kind of place the world would be if we all lived by this principle? What if we thought about loving our neighbor before we hit “post” on social media? When we encounter difficult people, instead of reacting, what if we remembered that we are obligated to love them? You want to fulfill the requirements of God’s law? It’s simple, love your neighbor as yourself. You don’t have to remember all these commandments, just the one. Love does no wrong to others, plain and simple. Do this and you won’t violate the rest.