LOVING GOD AND LOVING OTHERS REQUIRES A HUMBLE ATTITUDE

BIBLE PASSAGE:
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and 
with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; 
and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” 
Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 
(Luke 10:27-28)

MEDITATION:
When a lawyer asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life 
(Luke 10:25), Jesus asked him two very simple questions, 
“What is written in the law?” and “How do you read it?” (Luke 10:26)
After the lawyer responded with “Love God and love others”,
Jesus told him he was correct, and if he would do these things, 
he would inherit eternal life.

Really? That’s all there is to receiving eternal life?
It sounds simple enough, but can be very difficult to achieve.
Why? Because that means we have to exchange selfishness for selflessness.
In order to love God and love others, 
we have to overcome our normal tendencies.

Watch two small children playing with toys.
After awhile, they will usually have a conflict over one toy (maybe more).
It is that natural selfishness we are born with.
If we fail to overcome that flaw in our lives, 
we will never develop a love for God, and a love for others. 

The things God wants of us is contrary to many of our selfish desires.
As a result, it is difficult for us 
to harmonize with His commands for achieving eternal life.
And, as long as we remain in competition with others, 
it is difficult to really love them as we should.

However, when we focus on loving God and loving others,
it changes us on the inside (mind, attitudes, emotions, heart),
and makes it possible for us to have a desire to obey all of God’s commands.
God’s Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:7-21) remind us that we are selfish 
and if we expect to receive eternal life, we need to become unselfish.

Uncontrolled selfish desires can lead to all kinds of problems in our lives:
- It can cause us to develop selfish pride.
- It can cause bitter envy and jealousy.
- It can lead to arguments, fights, thefts, loss of friendships, and even murder.
- It can cause us to use prayer in the wrong way (or fail to pray at all).
- It can cause us to keep what belongs to God (money, time, etc.).
- Ultimately, it can cause us 
  to have a greater love for the world than we do for God.

How can we make the transition from selfishness to selflessness?
How can we break free of these selfish desires?
It begins with humbling ourselves.
Humbleness is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.
It takes a strong person to ‘absorb’ the disturbing things from others 
without retaliating to get revenge and evening the score.

When we develop a humble attitude, we learn to:
- Depend on God's grace to transform us from our selfishness.
- Show genuine sorrow for our sins.
- Stop judging others for their faults.
- Submit ourselves to God and pursue His Will for us.
- Obey God’s commands (all of them, not just the ones that seem easy).
- Develop peaceful attitudes and become peacemakers.
- Love God and have a desire to fellowship with Him.
- Love others and enjoy doing the things that will encourage them, lift 
  their spirits, and hopefully create in them a desire to grow closer to God.

ACTION:
On a scale of 1-10, what would your score be 
for humbleness, loving God, and loving others?
We cannot become humble by doing nothing, it requires a proactive effort.
As a starting point, look for an opportunity to do something for 
someone else this week without being asked, and without 
expecting anything (not even an expression of gratitude) in return.
If you struggle to find something specific, then look for some way 
to encourage them (card, text, email, conversation, etc.).

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, help me to learn to love You and love others 
in a new way. Maybe I have complicated my approach to receiving 
eternal life by creating a list of things to do and not do, instead 
of releasing my selfishness and learning to love. Teach me to become 
humble, so that I will be stronger in my commitment to obey Your 
commands, and I will have a new desire to please others ahead of
pleasing myself. Create in me a greater desire to love You and love 
others. Thank You for loving me, a sinner who is unworthy of Your
love.”

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