Bible Verse
“love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13-10
Christian Bible Lesson Overview
The word love has many different meanings in English. We use the same word when we are talking about our family as we use when talking about our spouse. Of course, romantic love is not the love mentioned in Romans. Greek has many different definitions of the word love. Four of these definitions include:
Eros – Romantic love
Phileo– the love of the soul
Agape– Is more of a parental, mature, sacrificial kind of love
Storge – Love of community and family. Often dutiful, sometimes unfeeling, but very strong nonetheless
I believe the love used in the Roman 13-10 passage is talking about Storge, love of the community, and family. To me, love means doing what is best for other people. Sometimes love is demanding. You may have to sacrifice yourself to help another person. When you are faced with the opportunity to help someone who is not friendly to you, the situation can be challenging. You must maintain your Christian values regardless of the behavior of others.
Christian Bible Lesson for Today
In my business, there are a couple of associates who are not officially in the business, but they contribute to it and receive profit sharing for their effort. There is one associate who continually contacts me to sell me on a business transaction that would make him a significant amount of money. I let him know from the beginning of the discussion about the opportunity that I was not interested but he continued to have long conversations with me even though I was not interested in the opportunity. I began to feel anger toward him.
Then I learned that he lost his job. I felt bad for him. It made me think through several Christian Lessons, including this one. I contacted him and reviewed his entire idea. After listening to him again, I realized that his idea did have some advantages. Then I asked him about his challenges with finding another job. His situation is desperate. He is about to lose his house and is not sure how he will support his family.
We discussed opportunities for him. I reviewed my experience with him, which was over five years. I decided to create a reference letter for him that was completely truthful. I had forgotten how many times he helped the company. I spent significant time developing the reference so it was professional enough to help him. After just two weeks, he is on a second interview with a great opportunity. I am so glad I did not allow my feelings for him to prevent me from helping him. This Christian Lesson of Love has helped me as well as those I help.
Christian Bible Lesson Summary
Love for family, friends, and the entire community is critical. We must work express that love every chance we have. There is always an opportunity to lead someone to God. When I look back, my life is so much better after helping people, even when it was a sacrifice. We will all have a better life if we practice this lesson.