Love Thy Neighbor

" A legal scholar tested Jesus with this question: 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?' Jesus replied, ' You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All of the Law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.' ".  [Matthew 22: 34- 39].

When I was a child no one hugged me or said that they loved me. I used to try to "trick" my mother into saying those precious words, "I love you."  Endlessly, I asked, Mommy, do you love me?" But the words never came.

So, I took myself underground. My soul became dry and shriveled. I was not receiving the life giving words of love that everyone needs. I said nothing. I hid in my room. If I came out of my room, I tried to make no visible moves. Instead of walking, I crept around and I floated by. I wanted to be invisible. I did nothing. I said Nothing. I became Nothing.

As I grew, LOVE became the most important thing in the world to me. If a relative asked what I wanted for Christmas, I said, 'Nothing.' Things do not matter to me. Money and possessions do not define me. All I ever wanted for Christmas was to break bread together, to feel joy and love at the holiday table.

As an adult, I try to embody Love each and every day. In fact, Love IS me. You cannot separate Love from me, nor me from Love.

This is what God is like. He IS Love. And we are to love Him with all our hearts and souls and minds.

But how to do that? With God, yes, Love is a feeling. It comes about in our gratitude for everyday blessings. It comes about when we pour our hearts out to Him in prayer. It comes when we experience His joy in a gorgeous sunrise or in the smile of our child.

But for God, Love is also a verb! Love means showing our neighbor, by our actions, the same affection and esteem as we show ourselves.

When I was in first grade, I finally got a glimpse of what Love is. My first grade teacher asked me to stay after school. When she said that, my heart was pounding. What had I done wrong?! But I was not in trouble. Instead, she asked me to help decorate the class Christmas tree. I was the only one asked to help. My teacher, Miss Brownstein, was Jewish. I felt special, honored, valued. I was no longer invisible.That day, I found out what Love is!

As an Adult, Love means showing others that they have a place in the world. Love means taking some risks. Several years ago now, I found out that Love means speaking up.

I used to work in a big office building, on an open floor full of cubicles. The department was in corporate finance and we dealt with millions of dollars every day. One day, a young temporary employee came to work in our department. She was very pretty. She was beautifully dressed. I even heard that she made her own clothes. She was a martial arts master. She practiced calligraphy. Her work was impeccable. But every day, I heard gossip and criticism about her. You see, she came from China. Her English was very good but not perfect. She had an accent. She looked different.

One day, I could take the harsh talk about her no longer. I stood up at my cubicle and announced, "How would YOU like to move to China with your six year old daughter and only a few possessions; try to figure out how to rent an apartment, get a driver's license, buy food, enroll your daughter in school?Get a job in a sophisticated financial services firm and handle millions each day? I wonder if you could even do it. I wonder if you would even dare try?"

There was dead silence after I had spoken. Then, the "ringleader" of the gossip paused and told me, "Wow! I never thought of it that way!" And I never heard another bad word about this employee. Not only that, I became her friend. I learned a lot from her.

How important is Love? It is the basis of everything. Forgiveness is Love. Peace is Love. Courage to speak up is Love. Patience is Love. Exercising our gifts is gratitude for God's Love. Faith is trust in God's Love. Joy is basking in God's Love.

I have taken to telling my son, 'If you are not sure how to behave, always do the loving thing.' The loving choice is not anger, impatience, hate, bigotry, violence, or fear.

God, I love You with all my heart and with all my soul and all my mind. I pray that I may embody Your love each day, in all that I do and say.

(c) The Spiritual Devotional 2011. All Rights Reserved.