Love your neighbour as yourself, don’t love your neighbour more than yourself.

The title of this message sounds absurd isn’t it? Sure, it is not going to be easy for you to digest but the truth cannot be taken away from the context.

Love is the most preached message all over the world. Love is the summary of the commandments. God is love. Without love our salvation is questionable. Trying to define love in its entirety according to the gospel is incomprehensible.

Leviticus 19:18 says, “…… but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord”.

Other verses of the Scripture such as; Matthew 19:19, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8 etc are all saying the same thing be it Old or New testament.

No matter how you love someone never do it at your own detriment. No matter how you want to show love to someone by giving, helping or doing charity work never put your life at stake. It is lack of knowledge that makes one to blindly go to the extreme to prove a point. No matter how God loves you He cannot force you to repent, He cannot leave His throne because of you.

Countless Christians misunderstand the message of love and therefore perish after rendering service to those who never wanted to be saved. You’re only permitted to die because of your faith or believe in Christ not because of your neighbour. It is the sole responsibility of Jesus not you to die for everybody but His death will only save those who believe in Him.

I have read the Scriptures concerning loving your neighbour as yourself but not loving your neighbour more than yourself because it is unscriptural. Doing things beyond your capacity without the leading of the Holy Spirit is a suicide mission.

You cannot jeopardize your salvation because you want to convince someone that you love him or her. Even the woman of Zarephath who gave Elijah her last meal waiting for death to come did it because she was led by the Spirit (1 Kings 17:12). It was a divine arrangement according to verse 8 of the same chapter. In verse 14 of the same chapter she heard Elijah saying it was the word of the Lord. It wasn’t out of ignorance. Such situations need divine guidance. If you do it out of carnality you are bound to suffer for it.

Showing love to others is good but doing it at your own expense is wrong. Never give, marry, mingle, associate, accept offers, be in relationship, take juicy job offers or be in a congregation at your own expense except by the word of the Lord who will certainly use it for your testimony.

Love is the greatest. Love is not blind. Love never fails but for you to show love you have to love responsibly and love wisely. Shalom.