What is love of neighbor?

Love of neighbor is, in the first place, the key to the solution of all the problems originating in racism, in the concentration of economic power, in the understanding and acceptance of the new manifestations of genders and in other serious moral deviations that humanity carries.

On the other hand, love for one's neighbor is the secret to obtaining real and lasting happiness, which people vainly seek in other ways, since it cannot be separated from love for one's neighbor. You cannot buy love or happiness, except the false ones.

Moreover, love for others is the great teaching that the masters of humanity such as Jesus, for example, always recommend as a path to reach self-knowledge and enlightenment. It is the great law of life, the representation of God. Read and learn more about this fascinating subject.

Current synonyms for love of neighbor

The expression neighbor love, and the feeling of happiness and well-being arising from an act of this love, is a spiritual initiation that awakens many other noble feelings. These feelings are none other than the manifestations of neighbor love, as you will see below.

Empathy

Empathy is a virtue that needs to be acquired and maintained at all costs, until it becomes a natural behavior and part of your character. It is one of the manifestations of the greater feeling of love for others. In addition, the practice of empathy allows you to get to know people and yourself better.

Empathy is the ability to feel, not just see, the other person. True empathy goes hand in hand with a well-developed intuition, which can be used to win in other aspects of life. The empathic person already has a certain degree of enlightenment, which makes them bear and understand the pain of others, so that they can help in any way possible.

Fraternity

Fraternity is a word that evolved from Latin and means brother in its simplest sense. However, the feeling of fraternity is already born with the spirit, which often stifles it in the name of selfishness. Fraternity is more than considering someone as a brother, because it means being brother to all creation.

Thus, fraternity is a feeling of responsibility for the weakest and, at the same time, a power that offers security, since one will never be alone in knowing oneself to be a member of a fraternity as vast as humanity itself. The central uniting point of a fraternity is love for one's neighbor.

Compassion

The feelings that ennoble a soul emanate from divinity, and are captured by those who are able to receive them, as well as to demonstrate their use among men. Therefore, to feel the divine compassion is to be part of the soul of the world. It takes a lot of willpower in the good, to transform the weight of a compassion into a path to evolution.

Compassion is the divine wisdom that associates evil and remedy and bad and good, so that by knowing the two concepts man learns to use common sense and free will, and then make decisions for which he will be held accountable in due time. Compassion brings man closer to God, without the need for a temple or a shepherd. It is a divine virtue and therefore a power.

Altruism

Altruism is an effect of the progressive understanding of love for one's neighbor, which makes the act of giving oneself a natural process. All these virtues that mean detachment and giving of one's own life are achievements of people who, many times, did not even know they possessed them. They are virtues that can remain latent, waiting for the right moment to blossom.

In fact, most people who sacrifice their lives for another person, or for a cause, know deep down that there will be a continuation, and that altruistic attitudes are more difficult choices and therefore more worthy of merit. These earned merits open doors to other virtues, and expand knowledge in a natural way.

Sorority

The word sorority, is only a name that differentiates from fraternity in the sense of gender. Thus, sorority and fraternity are the same concepts and feelings, even if they are concentrated in masculine or feminine, as long as they are based on love for others and divine justice.

The ideal framework is that brothers and sisters can work together in an environment free of prejudice, governed by the concepts of love of neighbor. Thus, fraternity and sorority united to work on a greater project, which is the evolution of humanity.

Love of Neighbours in the Bible

Love of neighbor as a consequence of the unique and divine origin of all creation is prescribed as law, not only in the Bible, but in many other religious doctrines. Christ made very explicit this need to learn to love one's neighbor in order to merit knowing God. See some more passages where the expression appears in the Bible.

John 15:17

"This I command you, that ye love one another."

It is a great example of the power of the word of Christ, which even when expressed in a soft manner, reveals a command given with firmness, and of vital importance since it is second only to the unconditional love of God.

As a result, the practice of love of neighbor appears as a solution both for the one who needs to give and for the one who will receive. The verse is short and covers the meaning of the others, which have been summarized with divine mastery. A student of these matters should pay attention to these phrases, for they contain power.

1 John 4:7

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God."

This is the content of the verse in its sense interpreted by John. And this verse teaches a mystical truth, which is also learned and taught in many other religious traditions, albeit with a different language.

Understanding that this commandment is not just a command, but the explanation of a basic need on the path of discipleship changes your perception, opening your mind to accept new ideas.

1 John 4: 20

"If anyone says, I love God, but hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he sees is incapable of loving God whom he does not see."

This passage from John is but a different way of quoting the second commandment of the Christ, which is to love your neighbor as yourself.

No one feels God with impurities in their heart, and working to help the needy is an excellent way of purification. A good deed erases a thousand sins, says a popular adage, which proves to be very true when it comes to love of neighbor.

Galatians 5:14

The whole Law is summed up in one commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." This repetition of the law in the scriptures has a justification, since this expression is second only to "love God above all things," and the two together form the perfect synthesis of Christ's thought.

Thus, it was necessary that this truth be spread throughout the world, and that is why it was written down in all the epistles and by all the apostles. It carries the basic principle for establishing contact with higher spirituality, and even with God.

John 13:35

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

The apostles learned the lesson well and sought to teach it everywhere, but the meaning and power of the words were dissolving to insensitive ears, remaining only in the heart of the one who grasped their meaning.

The sublime Christian maxim cannot belong to any exclusive religion, for its application is provided for in many creeds of different languages. After all, in the dimension of truths the content matters more than the form in which it is written.

1 Peter 4:8

"Above all, love one another sincerely, for love forgives very many sins."

Now it was Peter who passed on the divine commandment in another way, this time associating it with the forgiveness of sins. Thus Peter transformed love of neighbor into an act of remission and penance.

However, this forgiveness of sins is proportional not only to the feeling of love for one's neighbor, but the actions that are committed in this sense. True love will always find a way to reveal itself, so that it can fulfill its mission of transforming and renewing man.

1 John 3:17-18

"If anyone has material resources and, seeing his brother in need, has no pity on him, how can the love of God abide in him?"

The application of love for one's neighbor becomes essential for the achievement and maintenance of divine love, through this verse from John. The picture shows a reality in which many follow only words, while attitudes leave something to be desired.

However, the divine vision reaches everything, even the most distant thought, and no one can deceive God. Therefore, may your love be strengthened and purified in the work of assisting the needy, opening a path to a divine experience in the search for real happiness.

How to practice loving your neighbor

The best way to demonstrate love of neighbor is through concrete acts, which leave no doubt about the disinterest of the action, whose sole purpose should be to help. Polite and respectful behavior are characteristics of those who practice love of neighbor. See other ways to exercise the virtue.

Be kind

Kindness begets kindness, and this popular adage alone is already a great reason to be kind to the people you live with in your routines, as well as in casual encounters. Being kind is proof of maturity, education, and especially love for others.

So, treat people exactly as you would like to be treated, because this behavior is the key that opens the door to solving many problems. Conquer a light life, without stress and confusion, applying this simple and effective method of living by practicing kindness.

Respect the "preferential

Preferential service is a practice that should not even need a law to happen. In fact, some people go through situations, temporary or not, that justify priority in service, or priority use of some public facility. Any person with a minimum of common sense and free of selfishness understands this need.

Therefore, respecting those who need this priority also constitutes a demonstration of love for one's neighbor. It seeks to treat the elderly and disabled without offending their dignity, because tomorrow is an unknown and aging is a law that affects everyone.

Participate in social projects

There are several ways to exercise the practice of loving one's neighbor when the feeling of good is dominant in the heart of the being, especially in a world with so many inequalities as the one we live in. Hungry and sick people are spread all over waiting and depending on the action of charitable beings.

Therefore, you can love your neighbor by engaging in some public or private social project, which directs human and financial resources to help the most destitute. Do not forget that a single charitable act can erase several past mistakes, besides providing an indescribable sense of well-being.

Share what's good

The practice of loving your neighbor nowadays can be done in a generic way through social networks, where you can share messages of joy and optimism, which will reach not only your contacts, but can reach the whole world.

Thus, you have an excellent way to donate your time by creating or publicizing events that promote solidarity, fraternity and love for others. In a short time you can see the benefits of these actions, not only among the targets of the actions, but also in yourself.

Practice conscious consumption

The waste that happens in the world would already be enough to ease the hunger of many people, since only in Brazil it can reach thirty percent of everything that is produced in the food business. A rate out of control in a country with so much social inequality.

The well developed love for the neighbor can induce the person to change consumption habits, adopting and disseminating practices that avoid superfluous and waste, redirecting these resources for social work to help those who suffer most from hunger, cold, and other ills present in today's society.

Support projects you trust

It is not only with the financial support that one can work in the dissemination of the ideas of love to the neighbor, because the voluntary work gathers a great number of people, that not being able to donate money, they donate their time and physical vigor in diverse types of philanthropic actions.

Those who have the will to help can always find some trustworthy project in which they can engage in the service of good. Although the world is full of people willing to fraud, there are many well-intentioned groups needing the help of those who can participate, by whatever means.

Make your time available

If you feel in your heart the need to do something important, or a feeling that you are not doing all you can for your neighbor, but you do not have enough resources, donate some of your time. You can help on your own, or by joining various groups and institutions that are always in need of more arms in the service of good.

You can work in the collection and distribution of donated goods, as a volunteer caregiver for children and the elderly in hospitals, practicing your profession free of charge for people in need, in short. There is no shortage of places and services for those who carry within themselves the humanitarian impetus.

Listen carefully

Charity can be done in many different ways, including taking the time to talk and listen to people. Many suffer from abandonment, living isolated in their suffering and anguish, without having someone to vent to or how to renew hope for happier days.

Thus, you can develop a work of great value simply by dedicating yourself to listen to people who are in a situation of sadness or unhappiness. Do not let any opportunity to be useful pass by, because most of the time the one in need is you, who needs to do good to redeem yourself from the mistakes of life.

Offer support

You can contribute to a better world through simple actions, as long as they are done with your heart set on doing good. Thus, by looking carefully in your social circle or neighborhood, you will surely find someone who is in need of some kind of moral or psychological support, or even financial support in facing some situation.

Everything you give has a beneficial effect, even if they are only words of stimulus, of encouragement, which can change the mood of someone who is down and without moral strength to move forward.

Always respect

Showing respect for those who are different is one of the most basic forms of love of neighbor. The understanding that all are equal and brothers and sisters in God facilitates the practice of charity, which is also manifested through respect for diversity and for each person's way of being.

Thus, learning to control one's speech in order to avoid malicious and unnecessary criticism is also a form of expression of love for one's neighbor. Furthermore, respectful attitudes are proof of spiritual and moral superiority that make a good impression anywhere.

Surprise the one you love

The practice of love for one's neighbor can begin to be developed in one's own home, an environment that needs all possible harmony to deserve this name. It often happens that someone is charitable and kind in external environments, but neglects these virtues at home, in dealing with the closest relatives.

In this sense, you can surprise the people you love with a change of attitude that makes you more friendly, benevolent and empathetic in your domestic environment. With time and persistence this attitude will infect everyone, transforming the residence into a haven that besides being safe, is peaceful and happy.

Is love of neighbor something easy or difficult?

In order that the exercise of love for one's neighbor be done in an easy and pleasurable way, it is necessary to have the feeling of love in the heart. The acts of love are consequences of this feeling, and executed with naturalness by those who carry it in their hearts.

Anyway, to demonstrate the legitimate love to your neighbor is one of the most difficult tasks, since the merit is proportional to the difficulty. Besides, it is necessary to remember the need to love the disaffected, the people who do not like you, and in this point there is a great barrier created by pride.

However, divine wisdom has made love of neighbor a necessity also for those who dedicate themselves to practicing it. Thus, love of neighbor provokes feelings of personal fulfillment, well-being and happiness. It is as if the divine rewards for practicing such acts were automatic. Try it and you will see!