“‘And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.‘ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 (NLT)

“…for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.” Deuteronomy 5:9b-10

Did you notice the order of the commands to love … put God first and neighbor second. Putting God first helps you to love your neighbor, and Jesus said they were both equally important.

And by putting God first in our lives we no longer deal with generational curses. In Ezekiel 18:20 it says, “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” Ezekiel 18:20 (ESV)

And—”Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us….” Galatians 3:13a (NIV)

We all must repent for our own sins now, and then it becomes a one-on-one relationship between you and The Father. So where does the neighbor come in?

We have to ask, what is the Bible definition of neighbor? When an “expert in religious law” stood up to test Jesus in Luke 10:25-29 he asked Jesus that very question. Jesus answered by telling him the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Then Jesus asked the expert this question—who showed themselves to be the true neighbor in the parable?

The expert replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” (Luke 10:36-37)

“Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” (Luke 10:37b) (NLT)

Neighbor: “Anyone in our proximity with whom we can share God’s love.” (*From Got Questions: Who is my neighbor, biblically speaking.)

Got Questions says, “Loving others does not mean agreeing with everything they say or do, nor does it mean acting in ways that always gain their approval. Loving our neighbors means attending to their needs—both physical and spiritual….We love our neighbors best when we share God’s truth with them.”

There is a lot of truth to share from the Bible. Even many strong Christians try to change the Bible to say what they want it to say, but if you don’t share the Bible as God has written it, then you are not sharing truth.

Here are some Biblical truths shared straight from scripture:

1. “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” Ephesians 4:28 (NIV)
2. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)
3. “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.” Ephesians 5:3-7 (NIV)
4. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible — and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” Ephesians 5:11-13 (NIV)
5. “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but those who do wrong.” Romans 13:1-3a (NIV)
6. “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV)
7. “…defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to His holy people. I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ….And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment. In the same way, these people—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings….these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction. What sorrow awaits them! for they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion….The Lord is coming with countless thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.” Jude 3-16 (NLT) (I encourage you to go to your own Bible and read the whole book of Jude.)
8. And finally—from Jude 17-22: “But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted. They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them. But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

So if you break all of that down, you will find that before all others in this world, God should be front and center for you, and no one or no thing should be able to come between you and God. Then you should speak the truth to others who are on the wrong path—speaking truth is love. That is mercy. For perhaps someone will listen to you and turn. But, I caution you by the words of Galatians 6:1 (NLT) “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.“

I have found more than once that in pointing out someone else’s sin, I find that I am doing something similar and have to repent. That’s why we have to stay so close to God. We can’t help others until our relationship with God is established deeply, and we are strong in Him. We see many times in history (even recent history) where even the strong ones have fallen.

And beware:

“Among my people are wicked men
    who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind.
They continually set traps
    to catch people.” Jeremiah 5:26 (NLT)

“The fear of man lays a snare,
    but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” Proverbs 29:25 (ESV)

“The fear of man manifests as people-pleasing, compromised values, peer pressure, and a choice not to share our faith. The fear of man can be a snare when we allow it to influence our decisions. Rather than obey the voice of the Holy Spirit, we opt for avoiding unpleasant interactions. It’s easier to heed the fear of man than to invite the possibility of consequences….The fear of man is a snare in that it supplants the fear of God in our lives. Since the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10), the fear of man sets us on the road to foolishness. The fear of man has replaced biblical conviction in some so-called Christian circles today. Public opinion has overridden the clear teaching of Scripture on many social issues….The desire to be viewed by the world as progressive, enlightened, tolerant, or politically correct is a snare Satan has used to reel people into his way of thinking. The need to be liked and accepted has become more important than the Word of God to many professing believers….” (*Got Questions: How is the fear of man a snare [Proverbs 29:25]?)

Is obeying God easy in all of this? Certainly not, but we must not give up trying. The end seems very near now if you read Jesus’ words in Matthew 24.

We should be getting ready!