Loving God While Not Being a Dick to Everyone Else (The Whole Sum of the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospels) [A New Year's Card Talk]
Note: This is one of a few posts with New Year's advice we will rotate on the site (the others are worth a read).
This card best encapsulates our hopes for humanity in the New Year. As always it is best to let the Word speak for itself:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And you shall love the LORD thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. —Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (Law)
You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love thy neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. —Leviticus 19:18 (Law)
Seek good and not evil that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate . . . —Amos 5:14-15a (Prophets)
He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? — Micah 6:8 (Prophets)
Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. — Jeremiah 22:3 (Prophets)
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He [Jesus] said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” —Matthew 22:36-40(Prophets)
Or perhaps the real lesson is, just don't be a dick to anyone: God, others, or yourself.
Perhaps we can live up to this ancient standard in a new way.
But what do we know: we made this game, you probably think we're going to Hell.