If you're just now joining this saga, you might want to head over here and read this first.
So, Matthew 7:1-5 tells me that, before I can judge someone else, I must judge myself. Only when I've taken the plank out of my own eye will I be able to remove the speck from my brother's or sister's eye.
First, I've gotta identify the plank in my eye. What is my sin?
I firmly believe that there are only two commandments of Jesus Christ that really even matter. If Jesus himself said that loving God and loving others are the key components to everything else, then they are worthy of my full attention and my full devotion. And, by proxy, if loving God and loving others are the two greatest commandments, then not loving God and not loving others are the two greatest sins.
Period.
Let's start with the first most important commandment: Loving God.
Honestly? There are two aspects of loving God.
First, you've got the pure loving God aspect that has nothing to do with others. It's really pretty simple, even though it's not always easy: Love Him Exclusively. Love Him Supremely. Love Him Sacrificially. Oh, and give him all the glory for everything in your life.
But the second aspect? It's stinkin' hard as heck. It's the loving others part. You see, the reason loving others is the second most important command is because it is impossible to love God if you don't love others. Impossible. He says so.
So, here comes my evaluation:
I honestly feel like I'm doing excellently well on the first aspect of loving God. I do love Him only. I do love Him far above anyone or anything else. I truly am willing to give up anything for His sake. And I do my best to give Him all the credit for *everything* in my life.
With that said, I'm not doing as well as I could with the second aspect: loving others. When I first started thinking about this, I wanted to believe that I was doing just fine. I can think of at least ten people who would say that I'm an incredibly loving person. But I'm not living for other's opinions of me. I'm living for His opinion of me. So I went to the Bible.
The following is a list of what the New Testament says about loving others. It is not necessarily an exhaustive list, but it's pretty darn close. I have listed all the components of love that I found while reading through the New Testament one or twelve times in the past nine days. I graded myself, and you can find my grades in bold. I'm listing them in the order I found them, and I'm linking to my biblical sources.
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1. Love everyone...even your enemies. C (Matthew 5, Romans 12)
2. Don't cause a brother or sister to sin...don't be a stumbling block. B (Mark 9:42-50, Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8)
3. Do good to others. C (Luke 6, Romans 12)
4. Bless others...even those who curse you. D (Luke 6, Romans 12)
5. Pray for others: faithfully, fervently, continuallly, with thanksgiving, etc... C (Luke 6, 1 Thessalonians 5)
6. Give to anyone who asks and to those who have needs (even if they don't ask) and don't expect anything in return...don't be greedy. B (Luke 6, Romans 12, 2 Corinthians 8:8-9, Ephesians 5, 1 Thessalonians 2:8, 1 John 3:11-18)
7. Sacrifice for others...don't be greedy. C (John 15:12, Ephesians 5, 1 John 3:11-18)
8. Feed each other spiritually. B (John 21:15-17, Ephesians 4, 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 John 3:11-18)
9. Take care of each other...in every way: spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally. C (John 21:15-17, Ephesians 4, 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 John 3:11-18)
10. Be sincere. A (Romans 12, Ephesians 4)
11. Hate evil. A (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 5)
12. Cling to what is good...have no impurity. C (Romans 12, Ephesians 5)
13. Be devoted/Bear with one another. C (Romans 12, Ephesians 4, Colossians 3)
14. Honor each other...above yourself...respect each other. B (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 13)
15. Keep your zeal and spiritual fervor. A (Romans 12, 1 Thessalonians 5)
16. Be joyful. C (Romans 12, 1 Thessalonians 5)
17. Be patient. D (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, 1 Thessalonians 5)
18. Share...your joy, your sorrow, your possessions, the gospel, your life. B (Romans 12 (x2), 2 Corinthians 8:8-9, 1 Thessalonians 2:8)
19. Be hospitable. B (Romans 12)
20. Rejoice with those who are rejoicing. A (Romans 12)
21. Mourn with those who mourn. A (Romans 12)
22. Be peaceful with others...live in harmony...as much as you are able. B (Romans 12, Romans 14, Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 Peter 3:8)
23. Be humble...willing to associate with the "least of these", lacking conceit. C ***I originally graded myself as a B, but I figured that probably meant that, in all honestly, I was actually a C. So, perhaps it means I'm actually a D. It's hard to grade yourself on your humility. I mean, claiming to be humble is quite a prideful thing in and of itself, right?*** (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, 1 Peter 3:8)
24. Don't seek revenge. B (Romans 12, 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 Peter 3:8)
25. Do what is right in the eyes of everybody. B (Romans 12, Ephesians 5)
26. Be kind. B (1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, 1 Thessalonians 5)
27. Do not be jealous. B (1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 3:11-18)
28. Be gentle...in your words and actions. D (1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 4, Colossians 3)
29. Always protect. B (1 Corinthians 13)
30. Always trust. B (1 Corinthians 13)
31. Always hope. B (1 Corinthians 13)
32. Always persevere. D (1 Corinthians 13)
33. Be encouraging, build up the body of Christ. C (1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 4, 1 Thessalonians 5)
34. Speak truthfully. Don't lie. A (1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 4 (x2), Colossians 3)
35. Regarding anger: Only be angry for righteous reasons, and, when you're angry, don't sin. D (1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 4, Colossians 3)
36. Prepare God's people for works of service. B (Ephesians 4, 1 Thessalonians 5)
37. No unwholesome talk: gossip, slander, foolery, coarse joking, filthy language. D (Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, James 3:1-12)
38. Get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and all malice. C (Ephesians 4, Colossians 3)
39. Be compassionate. A (Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, 1 Peter 3:8)
40. Forgive...always. B/F ***I have two grades, because I'm not sure if you have to forgive right away or if you just have to be actively working toward it and eventually forgive. If you have to forgive right away, then I'm failing for sure. But if I get a little time to work on it, then I'm not doing bad.*** (Ephesians 4, Colossians 3)
41. No sexual immorality. A (Ephesians 5)
42. Be thankful. B (Ephesians 5, Colossians 3, 1 Thessalonians 5)
43. Have nothing to do with darkness, and, when you find it, expose it. B (Ephesians 5, Colossians 3)
44. Always seek to love each other more and more. C (1 Thessalonians 4:8-10, 2 Corinthians 8:8-9)
45. Be self-controlled, self-disciplined. F (1 Thessalonians 5, 2 Timothy 1:7)
46. Love deeply...it will cover a multitude of sins. B (1 Peter 4:8)
47. Be active in your love...love with actions, not just words. C (1 John 3:11-18)
48. Be brave and bold...no fear in love. A- (1 John 4:18)
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So, out of a possible score of 240, I got 173. That's a 72%. I'm barely making a C. (Bear in mind that I'm barely making a C with an obvious implied bias, since I graded myself. When we evaluate ourselves, our tendency is nearly always to see ourselves a bit better than we actually are.) The fact that even I realize I'm completely failing the course that makes all the rest of these courses completely possible (self-discipline)? Well, that doesn't bode well for the future.
Unless I become serious about actively loving the people around me, especially by being self-controlled with my tongue and words, there is no way I'll reach perfect unity with my brothers and sisters in Christ. And if I can't be unified with my brothers and sisters, the Bible says that I'll never be able to testify about Jesus Christ.
This is critical. This is of utter and utmost importance in my life.
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