DAILY TEXT, Today Saturday, October 21, Love your neighbor as you love yourself (Lev. 19:18).

DAILY TEXT, From  Saturday, October 21, 2023,  Love your neighbor as you love yourself (Lev. 19:18).

Let us examine the scriptures every day 2023

Saturday October 21

Love your neighbor as you love yourself (Lev. 19:18).

Jehovah does more than just tell us not to harm others. Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves is essential for Christians who want to please God. Let's see how Jesus emphasized the importance of the command found in Leviticus 19:18. On one occasion, a Pharisee asked him: “What is the most important commandment of the Law?” Jesus answered that “the first and most important of the commandments” is to love Jehovah with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind. And then he quoted from Leviticus 19:18 saying, “The second, which is similar, says, 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself'” (Matt. 22:35-40). There are endless ways to show love to your neighbor. One way to do this is by applying what Leviticus 19:18 says: “Do not take revenge on the children of your people or bear a grudge against them.” w21.12 10, 11 paras. 11-13.

Why do we know that the principles on which Leviticus 19:18 was based are still valid today?

The Christian who wants to please God must imitate Joseph's example and forgive instead of holding a grudge or taking revenge. This fits with the Lord's Prayer, where Jesus said we should forgive those who sin against us (Matt. 6:9, 12). Likewise, the apostle Paul gave this advice to Christians: “Beloved, do not take revenge” (Rom. 12:19). And he also told them: “Continue to bear with one another and forgive each other generously even if one has a reason to complain about another” (Col. 3:13). Jehovah's principles do not change. The principles on which the law of Leviticus 19:18 was based are still valid today.

What example helps us understand the importance of forgiving and forgetting?

Let's take an example. Emotional wounds are like physical wounds: some are minor and others are serious. For example, we may get a small cut on our finger when we open an envelope. It may hurt a lot at first, but most likely it will heal in a couple of days and we won't even remember where we cut ourselves. Similarly, a friend may say or do something without thinking that he or she will offend or hurt us, but it doesn't take much for us to forgive him or her. Now, if we get a deep wound, the doctor may have to stitch it and bandage it. If we didn't stop touching it or picking at it, we ourselves would make it worse. Unfortunately, that's what someone who is very offended might do. If he didn't stop thinking about the emotional wound he has suffered and the damage that has been done to him, that resentment would only be hurting himself. Without a doubt, it is much better to follow the advice of Leviticus 19:18.

According to Leviticus 19:33, 34, how were the Israelites to treat foreign residents, and what do we learn from this?

When Jehovah commanded the Israelites to love their neighbors, he did not mean to love only people of the same race or nationality. He also told them to love the foreigners who lived with them. This is clearly stated in Leviticus 19:33, 34 (read it). They had to see the foreigner “as a native of the country” and love him as they loved themselves. For example, they were to allow foreign residents and the poor to gather leftover crops (Lev. 19:9, 10). Christians must also apply the principle of loving strangers today (Luke 10:30-37). As? There are millions of immigrants in the world, and some may live near us. It is important that we treat these men, women and children with dignity and respect.

What do Leviticus 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:15 encourage us to do? And what very important work did the apostle Peter say we should do?

Both Leviticus 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:15 say that God's servants must be holy. In Leviticus chapter 19 there are many other verses that help us see what we can do to please Jehovah. We have looked at some verses that show some of the things we should do and some of the things we should avoid.b And we have seen that the Christian Greek Scriptures indicate that these principles are still applicable today. But the apostle Peter adds something else.

Surely we Christians participate in various spiritual activities and do many good works. But Pedro highlighted one in particular. Before encouraging us to be holy in all our conduct, he said, “Prepare your minds to act” (1 Pet. 1:13, 15). What was he referring to? He explained that Christ's anointed brothers would everywhere proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them (1 Pet. 2:9). Today, all Christians have the honor of doing this very important work, which is the one that benefits people the most. And what a special privilege God's holy people have to preach and teach with regularity and enthusiasm (Mark 13:10). In conclusion, let us strive to apply the principles found in Leviticus 19. In this way we will demonstrate that we love our God and our neighbor, and that we want to be holy in all our conduct.

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