Love your neighbour too

THE EDITOR: When one hates oneself or tries to or even kills oneself, such a person is believed to be the victim of an unsound mind since the very nature of our existence is predicated on the preservation of self.

Hence, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” was a simple command that God gave the people after admonishing them on tenets for living with their neighbours (Leviticus 19:9-19).

Much later Jesus gave another command: love one another as I have loved you... (John 13:34). Love still is important to the sustainability of a successful society.

“Love hates evil and clings to what is good.” So what is love or what is not love? First Corinthians 13 explains it this way: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud (arrogant). Love is not rude, it is not self-seeking and it is not easily angered.” Love is not vindictive.

So the choice is really ours — to love or not to love. We sing along and dance to songs like What the World Needs Now Is Love and One Love. Yet neighbours are being struck down at the drop of a hat. Why is it so easy to violate the law of God and of the land?

The children are supposed to be brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord (taught to do right). But is that being done? When Prison Commissioner Hercules was murdered some years ago, the killer’s mother declared on national television, “My son did not go to kill, he went for money.” In other words, he only went to rob the commissioner.

Dr Morgan Job recognised the genesis of the terror that was creeping into our land and voiced his caution, but society thought his language was a bit too harsh. Now all and sundry are openly going for money and from time to time a killing — or two or even three — gets in the way.

There is no denying that love is very instrumental to the reality of TT’s moral and social positioning now. The love of money is trending. Of course “the love of money is the root of all evil” but we have decided to balance off such evil with its booty of land, houses, cars, malls, boats, jet (“What ah want ah get”). The rewards are so countless.

And as “the root of all evil” continues to stalk our land, the bemused masses lock themselves away. Some indulge in prayers, poems or plays; others protest through mimes and marches, while the elected and selected take turns complaining and finger-pointing in their attempts to reverse the galloping terrors.

So far we are losing the battle. We must now deploy meaningful heavy artillery; simple but formidable if administered properly. La Trinity, we need to love our neighbours as ourselves and to select a day of prayer in accordance with second Chronicles 7:14.

Let’s do it, people ... soon.

SANDRA HENDRICKSON via e-mail