Matthew 22
What does it mean to love someone as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40)?
1. It does not matter how another person treats you. Their behavior is not your standard, whether they behave in good or bad ways.
Luke 7:11-17 – And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.
From Luke 7:11-17, there are three specific applications for our lives today:
1. Opportunities for ministry happen every day. Opportunities to be a blessing and service others will often come outside of the church building. Every day, we have opportunities to minister to others while driving to work, shopping at the supermarket, and going to the moves.
Matthew 22:39 – …Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
People that experience mistreatment and verbal or physical abuse often grow to conduct the same behavior toward others. Children take on the destructive behaviors of their parents when they have children themselves. Husbands abuse their spouses in the same manner they witnessed their mother being abused. Young girls learn to use their femininity as a means to get what they want because they watched their mothers and other adult women do the same.
G.O.A.T. is an acronym for the Greatest of All Time. Many times this reference has been used to describe sports athletes or recording artists, but in whatever application, it refers to someone or something that is undisputedly…the best.
From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, and soul (Joshua 22:5; Matthew 22:36-41).
May the greatest commandment of all time become our greatest focus and priority in life.
Photo courtesy of CreationSwap/JaretBenson
Photo courtesy of Stock.XCHNG.com/bjearwicke
1 Corinthians 10:31 – Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
1. There are many compartments in our lives. Many Christians live their lives like train compartments. One compartment may represent their home life; another compartment is for work; and another for church, etc. Each compartment carries its own set of rules, standards, and customs.
In the compartment of our home life (for example), we may act, lead, and love according to our upbringing and our position in the home. Because the home is closed to the outside world (unless you welcome people over), you will often be the most ‘loose’ with your mouth and behavior than in any other compartment.
The work ‘compartment’ encompasses another set of rules, standards, and customs separate from the home compartment. Some work centers encourage (or influence) people to dress, talk, and conduct themselves in a specific manner to be accepted or promoted. There is an unwritten desire or need to become one of the ‘guys or girls’ in the office where they are known by their superiors positively. In many work centers, the goal is to reach the ‘top,’ and many do so without the slightest concern for how they get there. Such strivings may influence or ‘encourage’ people to compromise their moral standards and conduct.
The church ‘compartment’ is fitted with a set of rules, standards, and customs different from the other two. This compartment is filled with outward displays of piety and godliness. Some churches also carry specific (or unwritten) rules for dress or conduct. Additionally, congregations will often worship the Lord in similar fashion (based on their affiliation or cultural background). Their children are well kept and their family is pictured as the Christian model for all, even if this is not true in the home compartment.
2. Only one rule must exist among our life compartments. Our lives may have different compartments of home, work, church, etc., but only one rule must govern them all, to the glory of God. Jesus has given two great commandments that should govern our conduct (Matthew 22:36-40).
As Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he stated that whether they ate, drank, or whatever they did, to do it for the glory of God. Some definitions of glory from the translated Greek are magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace; majesty; the kingly majesty that belongs to him as supreme ruler, majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity.1 In every thing we do and in every situation, God is to be glorified.
3. How to glorify God in each compartment of life.
Some people would ask, ‘how do I glorify God in eating or drinking?’
If we look back on the definition of glory above and consider the things that we eat, drink, and do on a daily basis, consider this:
- Do you eat to where you become gluttonous? Filthy? Pig-like? Do you eat foods that God would not be pleased to see you eat? Do you eat fattening foods that cause you to gain excessive weight, creating numerous health problems? Would this type of eating honor God and your body, where the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)?
- For the things you drink, do you become drunk with alcohol (even if it is in your own home)? Do you drink to the point where you would dishonor your own body by consuming liquids that are clearly unhealthy and destroy your body? Would the Lord be pleased and glorified?
- What about your conduct… When working with difficult bosses, do you apply Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:38-45? Or do you treat them like the world would treat them, curse at them, and ensure they know you don’t like them? Do you work each task and responsibility to the best of your ability? Do you love others as yourself and give each person the very best of what you have to give?
4. Living for God’s glory is moment-to-moment. Living for God’s glory requires a concentrated effort with each situation and circumstance. It will require some of the following (this is not an exhaustive list):
- Times of prayer and intimacy with the Lord throughout the day
- Bridling the tongue from speaking falsely, course joking, and saying evil things (Proverbs 21:23; Ephesians 4:29, 5:1-4; James 1:26, 3:3-13)
- Meditating on scriptures throughout the day that help us stay focused on the Lord (Psalm 1:1-3)
- Fellowship with like Christians that motivate and encourage you
- Remaining unspotted from the world and its ways (this may require separating yourself from certain events and people) – Psalm 1:1; James 1:27
1 – Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for doxa (Strong’s 1391)”. Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2012. 26 Jan 2012. http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1391&t=KJV
Matthew 22:35-40 – Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 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.
Our lives are filled with many goals, dreams, and desires. We think about losing more weight, starting a new hobby, saving more money, getting a promotion, etc. However, how often do we think about loving the Lord more?
What does it mean to love the Lord thy God with ALL your heart, soul, and mind?
When being told certain genres of Christian music are not appropriate for our lives before God, many questions arise:
- What am I suppose to listen to?
- What about the youth? What do you give them?
- How do I distinguish between songs and artists?
To answer these questions, let’s review our greatest commandment:
Matthew 22:36-38 – Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 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.
Our greatest duty within this life is to love the Lord with every part of our heart, every part of our soul, and every part of our mind. Before we accomplish any other work or service before the Lord (in church), our chief aim should be to love Him. Concerning the realm of music, it is important that we are continually filling ourselves with songs that keep us in an intimate and consuming relationship with the Lord throughout each moment of the day.
Why do I always have to go through trials and temptation? I don’t want to continue facing the same things over and over and over AND OVER again! I just want to be free.
Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like the Apostle Paul when he said that when he wants to do right, sin is right there (Romans 7:21)? OR the things you want to do you don’t do, but the things you don’t want to do, THAT you find yourself doing (Romans 7:15)? Many of us can relate to Paul’s statements of temptation and sin, but we often stop there without going any further. We continue to live in a cycle that goes from temptation-sin-repentance-temptation-sin-repentance and it never seems to stop. We want to get off the merry-go-round, but it doesn’t seem like we ever can. Why do I have to go through this? Why can’t God just take it away because He knows I want to serve Him. If I didn’t have this ‘sin’ issue, I could just run for Him.
Mark 8:36-37 – For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Though there are many things the ‘world’ would consider being important (i.e. family, job), the most important is your soul. For different people, gaining the world will mean something different. At the root, gaining the world is anything that does not place your spiritual life before God first, causing your soul (and eternal salvation) to be at risk.
There are many times when the world comes knocking on our doorstep. Be it promotion, position, or people, they call for our attention at the expense of our soul. These desires seldom originate from outside ‘elements,’ as our flesh is the culprit for all types of lustful desires (James 1:14-15). If we place our focus on these desires, we find that they begin to draw us away from the thing that should matter most in our lives–God. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t love your family or be a good worker (as scripture says we should – Matthew 22:34-40; John 13:34-35; Colossians 3:22-24), however, we must not love them more than the Lord (Matthew 10:37-39).
We can obtain the highest position at our jobs or gain the popularity of an entire country, but if our soul isn’t ‘right,’ it profits nothing!
Think for a second…what would your life be like if you placed the condition of your soul as the top priority? There would probably be a lot of decisions you wouldn’t make, a lot of places you wouldn’t go, and A WHOLE LOT of things you wouldn’t do.
What is preventing you from serving God fully and focusing on your soul? …and are you willing to give up those things hindering you? Remember, the flesh (and lust) will not allow this decision to be made without a fight (Galatians 5:16-17).
The decision you make may cause you to lose a promotion, popularity, or some other ‘benefit,’ but what you gain is the GREATEST benefit of all and lasts for an eternity! Think about it and choose wisely!
Photo courtesy of freeimages.com/Zern Liew
Proverbs 13:24 – He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
When it comes to discipline or punishment, many of us believe if ‘you spare the rod, you spoil the child’ (Proverbs 13:24). And many take every opportunity to use the rod without understanding the purpose of discipline. For many people disciplining their children, they react based on emotions. Yes, they want to correct negative behavior, but may do so out of anger (sometimes uncontrolled). However, there’s a few reasons why this approach can be counterproductive:
1. Discipline is a corrective tool. In disciplining our children, our purpose must be to (1) isolate the behavior; (2) address it appropriately; and (3) place our children on the path toward good and godly success. Discipline is not a means for us to take out our anger on our children. If we know our children well, using a rod may not the most effective means to correct their behavior in every situation. Sometimes a short discussion can accomplish the same result.
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