Day 14: Golden Rule

We tend to complicate religion, don’t we?

This Lent-let’s simplify it.

Religion should be a roadmap to a deeper relationship with God. We know, too well, how it often excludes and burdens and may even cause us to feel further away from a God that is always there.

So, this Lent, let’s go back to basics.

And in doing so, let us return to Jesus and his two commandments: To love God with all your heart and soul and to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

The caution with Part 1of this “Golden Rule” is to not limit God to the God that fits nicely in your worldview, your politics, and your judgments.

The caution with Part 2 is what if you don’t love yourself.

How might you be bringing your own sense of criticism and difficulty to others since this is how you may meet yourself? If we cannot be gentle with ourselves, how can we be gentle with others. If we don’t love ourselves, we will never truly love our neighbors.

We must learn to love ourselves, to accept God’s love for us, and to know we are God’s beloved- no matter what!

If we cannot do this, we then see our neighbor as a competition, a burden, a distraction. We do not embrace their suffering and shortcomings, rather, we cast blame and judgment.

Let us this Lent, return to loving God and loving our neighbor by first accepting how we are already loved and all that is then required so our own love toward self matches the unconditional love of our Creator.