Loving God and Loving Your Neighbor

Scripture — Mark 12:28-31 (NRSV)

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Devotion

In 2008, an artist named Archie Rand first displayed an artistic masterpiece that he called The 613. This painting, which may well be the largest free-standing painting in the world at 1,700 square feet, depicts in detail the 613 distinct commandments in the biblical Jewish law. Because of its immense size, it is not often put on display, though we can see pictures of it online.

Jewish teachers in the time of Jesus didn’t paint pictures of the 613 commandments in the law, but they did debate among themselves which of these commandments were the most important. They called these “heavy,” in contrast to the less important commandments that were identified as “light.”

One of the Jewish teachers engaged Jesus in such a conversation, asking him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” (12:28). Jesus answered:

“The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).

Though Jesus was not the first Jewish rabbi to link love for God with love for neighbor, his answer is nevertheless striking. Notably, he did not point to one of the Ten Commandments. Nor did he point to only one commandment as the “first.” Rather, he quoted from the Old Testament books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (Deut 6:4-5).

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD (Lev 19:18).

Though love for God receives top billing here as the “first” commandment, according to Jesus, love for one’s neighbor is so important that it is mentioned even though his questioner asked only about which commandment was the most important.

If Jesus had used the language of purpose, he might well have said: “Your chief purpose is to love God with all that you are. Your related purpose is to love your neighbor as yourself. There is no purpose greater than these.” As you work on discerning and living your purpose in life, you won’t go wrong if you make loving God and neighbor central to that purpose.

Remember that loving your neighbor isn’t limited to what we sometimes think. Yes, it’s good to offer friendly greetings, care for people in need, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. But loving your neighbor is also something you do at work, in the way you treat your colleagues, your direct reports, and even your competitors. Also, sometimes the most difficult neighbors to love are those who are closest to us, family members with whom we have political disagreements, children who are making choices we don’t affirm, or older parents who require lots of consistent care. Sometimes we might be tempted to think that loving our family takes us away from our life’s purpose. But Jesus gives us another perspective. Perhaps loving our family, even those who are hard to love, is right at the center of God’s purpose for our lives.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Our Work Fulfills the Great Commandment (Mark 12:28-34).