God’s Word teaches us throughout Scripture we are to love Him first and our neighbor second.
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
“There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others.” ~ Hale
“The next time you want to withhold your help, or your love, or your support for another for whatever the reason, ask yourself a simple question: do the reasons you want to withhold it reflect more on them or on you? And which reasons do you want defining you forevermore.” ~ Pearce
“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him up on his beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him: and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go and do thou likewise.” Luke 19:33-37
“There is an age-old story involving a very rich man – materially and spiritually – who lived in a big house on a hill overlooking a village. He had become rich because he had been diligent in labor and thrift. Many others who had the same opportunities were poor. He and they illustrated Solomon’s guideline on prosperity: “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.” Proverbs 10:14
Nevertheless, he tried to help them: planted trees, set up a park, did much for the children at Christmas, gave handouts, lent money, and worked to provide jobs.
One day the rich man got up early in the morning and placed a large stone in the middle of the road near his house. Then he hid behind the hedge to see what would happen. Later a poor man leading a horse came along. He raged, walked around the stone, and went on his way. Then a farmer came next. He ranted, drove around it, and went on his business. The day passed. Many had come, but did nothing to help.
At last, at nightfall, an old man came. He said to himself: “Somebody may fall over this stone in the night and get hurt. I will move it out of the way.” Being thin and weak, he had to tug and tug, push and pull to get it moved. To his surprise, there lay a bag of gold underneath with this note: “This gold belongs to the one who moves this stone.”
“While gold is valuable, our greatest enrichment is what we do for others: rolling stones out of their way, lifting them up, pointing them to a better life.” ~Leroy Brownlow
“For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.” Romans 14:7
We are not the only pebbles on the beach. …and for all of the things money can buy, they soon lose their shine. Let us follow after those things of true value and build bridges for others to help them. …and in helping others, we help ourselves.
“An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting our strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come” he said,
“There followed after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.” ~ Will Allen Dromgoole
Eileen Light