Thinking Out Loud, Volume CDXV

I was just wondering if there are any of the commandments that we can disobey and get away with it. Yes, I know you're wondering if I have any particular one of them in mind. Well, yes, actually I do. As I think about it and look back over my life, I have to conclude that I have NEVER completely obeyed this one. So naturally, as a typical human, I started watching you, and it didn't take me long to figure out that you don't obey it either. Maybe, since both you and I are guilty of disobeying this particular one, we should ask if any of them are less important than the others, so I looked in to it, and I have good news and bad news. The good news: Apparently some of them are of somewhat lesser importance, because when the question was asked which of the commandments are the greatest, The Lord listed two as the greatest, and he said that all of the others hang on those two. Now for the bad news: The commandment I'm talking about is one of the two listed as the greatest. Now....if each of us would determine in our minds that we we're going to start obeying it and also convince one other person to join us, we could revolutionize the world! Let's take a look at how different things would be if we did. Here's the commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself." The first things that come to mind are that we wouldn't steal or kill, but hopefully we don't do that anyway. But there's more. If I loved you as much as I love me, I wouldn't rush to get ahead of you in the checkout line at the grocery store. If I loved you as much as I love me, I would be just as happy to see your kids succeed in life as I am for my own kids. If I loved you as much as I love me, I would be tolerant of your mistakes and would show you as much grace as I want to be shown. If I loved you as much as I love me, I would do unto you as I would have you do unto me. If I loved you as much as I love me, I would never gossip about you behind your back. If I loved you as much as I love me, everything I tell you would be the absolute truth. If I loved you as much as I love me, I wouldn't try to talk you out of making a fair profit on the goods you're selling me, and I would never try to gouge you or take advantage of you when I'm selling something to you. If you were my waiter, I would tip you fairly, even when you're having a bad day. I would never have an ulterior motive behind the nice things I do for you. I would be tolerant of what I may consider to be your odd or annoying habits. I would never be jealous of you. I would never view my needs and desires as more important than yours. I would be just as willing to listen to you as I am to speak to you. I would ALWAYS be fair, honest, and considerate in all my dealings with you. That list could go on and on. The two greatest commandments: Love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. If we would just concentrate on those two, we wouldn't even need to worry about those other ten...they would happen automatically. Let's try it and see what happens. Maybe others will like what they see and decide to join us. Preston Sent from my iPad