Love Your Neighbor As Yourself Part 3 | Episode 176

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” A famous commandment from the Bible.

Bible. We talked about it 2 podcasts ago in our “Respect” episode. We realized that THIS topic would take an entire session at The Table. We even intimated that it could take several. TONIGHT begins that journey!

What does it mean to love others? What does it even mean to love yourself? Can we apply this to EVERY emotional need?

We’ll be talking about some of that at The Table this evening.

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

1. What does it mean to love?

   • Miriam Def – love verb

     • to hold dear : CHERISH

     • to feel a lover’s passion, devotion, or tenderness for

       • CARESS

       •  to fondle amorously

       • to copulate with

     • to like or desire actively : take pleasure in – loved to play the violin

     • to thrive in – the rose loves sunlight

   • Biblical Def

     • Agape – The Greek word agape is often translated “love” in the New Testament. How is “agape love” different from other types of love? The essence of agape love is goodwill, benevolence, and willful delight in the object of love. Unlike our English word love, agape is not used in the New Testament to refer to romantic or sexual love. Nor does it refer to close friendship or brotherly love, for which the Greek word philia is used. Agape love involves faithfulness, commitment, and an act of the will. It is distinguished from the other types of love by its lofty moral nature and strong character. Agape love is beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 13.

     • Philia (pronounced FILL-ee-uh) conveys a strong feeling of attraction, with its antonym or opposite being phobia. It is the most general form of love in the Bible, encompassing love for fellow humans, care, respect, and compassion for people in need. For example, philia describes the benevolent, kindly love practiced by early Quakers. The most common form of philia is close friendship.

   • Lunchtime in Rome Def – to meet someone’s needs

     • Can you really say that you love someone without meeting their needs intentionally?

       • It’s hypocrisy to say that you do (intentionally)

       • What is the bible selection that talks about this?

     • What needs?

       • Physical – food/water/shelter

       • Intellectual – education/skills

       • Spiritual – a sense of being and purpose

       • Emotional – duh

2. Thus does it, in fact, mean that if we don’t meet others’ needs we aren’t loving them?

3. How do we, then, love ourselves? What do we need?

   • Physical

   • Intellectual

   • Spiritual

   • Emotional

4. Can we love others without ensuring that our needs are met?

5. Does this apply to emotional needs as well?

   • If so, all of them or certain ones?

   • It’s not so much “can we?” but will, or how easy, will it be?

   • If we have no or low need, are we likely to give it?

     • Examples

       • Acceptance – can we forgive others?

       • Affection – do we feel like we love ourselves and thus others?

       • Appreciation – if we don’t give ourselves credit can we credit others?

       • Attention – if we ignore ourselves can we pay attention to others?

       • Belonging – if we don’t value our role in others’ lives how well we do it in others?

       • Comfort

       • Encouragement

       • Respect – how does one respect themselves?

       • Security –

       • Support

     • Perhaps it comes down to this

       • If we ensure that our emotional needs are met, we will be most likely to meet them in others

       • If we don’t have a high need for a certain emotional need we will be less likely (but not unable) to meet it in others.

       • If we have a high need, and it’s not being met, it will be most challenging to even try to meet it in others.

6. Why isn’t loving others/ourselves happening more often?

   1. Review why, in general, why we do or don’t meet others needs.

      1. If we ensure that our emotional needs are met, we will be most likely to meet them in others

      2. If we don’t have a high need for a certain emotional need we will be less likely (but not unable) to meet it in others.

      3. If we have a high need, and it’s not being met, it will be most challenging to even try to meet it in others.

   2. Why do we not see an emotional need in others when we do not share that same need (6aii)?

      1. If people are not meeting the needs of others, how often is this the reason?

      2. Review being open, honest, and vulnerable.

      3. Review mutual giving

      4. Review Christ at the center

      5. Give examples

   3. How often is the reason for people not meeting others needs (loving them) due to THEIR needs not being met (6aiii)?

      1. Brian will probably expand on this a lot

      2. Division, being alone, fear, anxiety, etc.