For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Galatians 5:14 ESV
Over the last few days I have been thinking of this commandment and I have particularly noticed the significance of one small word: as. You shall love your neighbor AS yourself. Not more than yourself. Not less than yourself. As yourself. As much as yourself.
What does this mean?
The finer details are different for each person, but in general we can say that it means taking the time to look after your needs as well as the needs of others. I will share an example.
We may be so focussed on helping others that we may neglect to take the time to care for our own health. We may say "yes" to many good things and crowd our lives with busyness. We may be busy with work (and view it as a mission field) and busy in the church and busy at home. It is good to serve in all these places, but we need balance. We can't say yes to everything. We are only capable of so much. There is only so many hours in the day. Sometimes we have to say "no". Sometimes we have to stop. Sometimes we serve others at the neglect of ourselves. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes:
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
Everything needs to be done to the glory of God. We need to take care of all aspects of our health so that we are able to be in the best possible condition to serve God and others. Earlier in the same letter, Paul wrote:
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV
If our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, shouldn't we do everything that we can to keep it in excellent condition?
When we neglect to care for our own health in order to have more time to serve others we are breaking the commandment. We are not loving others as ourselves, we are loving others more than ourselves and we are eventually going to wear ourselves out.
Usually when we think of this commandment, we think that breaking it involves us being selfish and loving ourselves more than others, but the opposite is equally bad. God wants us to live balanced and healthy lifestyles that will bring glory to Him and be a blessing to others. His instructions is simply this: Love your neighbor AS yourself.
