How to Love Your Neighbor In Religion and Politics

This page is for anyone who is open to the reality that division and conflict is not just a problem for politicians and diplomats to solve. It is for people who accept that division begins at the grassroots level and that they are personally responsible for establishing and maintaining healthy relationships in all cultures.

Religion and politics are significant parts of life for religious and nonreligious people. Whether religious or not, everyone agrees that America is more politically divided than it has ever been and that America has always been divided religiously. This is the way it has been for so long that no one imagines that religious and political relationships could ever change so that unity could be achieved.

The sayings below are paraphrases of scripture. Jews and Christians will recognize most sayings but even people who do not believe that God exists and have no faith in the bible can agree that the world would be more peaceful if everyone followed these principles. This speaks to the practicality of God’s commandments.

Be like-minded.
Be sympathetic and love one another.
Be compassionate and humble.
Strive for perfect harmony.
Encourage one another
Be of one mind.
Live in peace.
Live together in unity!
Agree with one another in what you say.
That there be no divisions among you.
That you be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Live in harmony with one another.
Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.
Do not be conceited.
Be like-minded, having the same love.
Be one in spirit and of one mind.
Lay down your personal interests for your neighbors.‎

NOTE TO READERS: This is only a short list of God’s commands that relate love to religion and politics. Most sayings do not include the word “love” but there should be no confusion that they are detailed examples of God’s specific commands to love your neighbor. People who are familiar with the bible know that he always introduces a command in one place and then clarifies and expands on it in many other locations throughout the bible.

Jews and Christians have always lived in religious and political environments fraught with violence and division. Despite their professed belief that God is capable of doing all kinds of miracles, despite their claim that the bible is a reliable guide for living, and despite their claim to trust him for all their needs, they accept long-standing divisions in religion and politics as facts of life to be endured. They never explore what God has commanded each of them to do to establish unity. Pride prevents them from understanding that their personal failure to obey these commands contributes to social/religious/political division and pervasive injustice. This attitude exposes a serious lack of faith that God is willing and able to miraculously change hearts and minds — including theirs — so that unity can be achieved. They hypocritically claim that God is all powerful and able to do great miracles while silently admitting that even He does not have the power to create peace.

Jews and Christians are very skilled at applying scripture to their religious lives but are woefully inept at identifying and applying scriptural commands to love their neighbor. They take great pride in their knowledge of literal scriptures that they wrongly interpret as commands to create religious activity, but ignore God’s commandments about how to love their neighbors. And then they employ common, worldly remedies (e.g. prayer, protests, political activism, etc.) to deal with all their personal, political and religious conflicts. It never occurs to them that their personal failure to obey God’s commands to love their neighbors is the cause of social and political division. Lack of insight into these intellectual and moral disconnects reveals the incredible deceptive power of religion and deep religious pride. The purpose of this page is to bring God’s commandments into clear view so that they might be convicted of their sins of omission and sins of commission and change their attitudes and behaviors.

The sayings in the table below are from the bible. They are all practical examples of attitudes and behaviors that God prescribes so that unity can be a reality in human communities. These attitudes and behaviors will work for people who are religious and for those who are not.

These sayings do not typically appear in the bible with “thus saith the Lord” clarity that says they are commandments with the same weight and authority as the Ten Commandments. Some sayings are exact quotes from scripture and some sayings are paraphrases of scriptures. Nonetheless, each statement should be interpreted as a commandment, law, statute, ordinance, precept or judgment that applies to all people –not just Jews and Christians. Since God is love, these statements should be regarded as expressions of who God is because he reveals himself and his love through his words. Furthermore, religious people who like to think that they are created in God’s image will want to adjust their attitudes and behaviors to be aligned with God’s character

Non-religious people will recognize the wisdom and logic found in these sayings. Some may find it curious that their own attitudes and behaviors are better aligned with God’s commands than the attitudes and behaviors of their religious neighbors. Religious people who claim to follow God should react differently — but they don’t. If religious people did have a mind to incorporate these attitudes and behaviors into their lives, the first thing they would do is humble themselves to admit their hypocrisy and disobedience to God’s commands about loving their neighbors. And then they should make conscious efforts to change their ways. Making these adjustments in attitudes and behaviors to agree with God’s commands is an example of laying down your life so that you can love your neighbor as you love yourself.

While reading these sayings, it is comforting and exiting to imagine what the world would be like if people would relate to one another in these kind, gentle, respectful ways. Religious and political leaders would exhibit powerful leadership qualities if the they modeled these attitudes and behaviors for others to see and emulate. If they would show such leadership, change would not happen immediately, but eventually divisions would heal in legislative bodies, in businesses, in homes and on the streets. Eventually, all people would live in peace and unity. That is exactly what God had in mind when he gave these commands to teach people the practical ways to love their neighbor as they love themselves.

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS IN RELIGION AND POLITICS

Do not be excessively self-righteous in your religious activity and do not be overly wise in your religious knowledge.
Do not be excessively self-righteous in your political activity and do not be overly wise in your political knowledge.
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; turn away from evil.
If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know;
If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Do not seek political or religious status and praise for yourself.
Do not be conceited about your religious knowledge or your political beliefs.
Do not practice your self-righteousness before men to be noticed by them.
When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love to pray in public. When you pray, pray in secret.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.

Do not neglect the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.
Everyone who exalts himself through religion and/or politics will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Do not be hypocrites who honor God with their lips while their hearts are far away from him. Their worship means nothing because their religious and political doctrines are created by men — not God.
It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles a man, but what proceeds out of the mouth defiles a man. The things that proceed out of the mouth come from a defiled heart.
Religious and political leaders exercise authority over people. Whoever wishes to be a religious or political leader shall be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

The greatest among you shall be your servant.
If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.
Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.
Religious and political leaders lord it over people and call themselves benefactors. Do not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves. Do not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.
Religious and political leaders do all their deeds to be noticed by men. They love the place of honor at banquets, chief seats in churches, and respectful greetings wherever they go. They love being called teachers and leaders. Do not call anyone a religious teacher for you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth pastor or priest. Do not call anyone a religious or political leader. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

“Woe to religious and political leaders because you devour widows’ houses; for show you make speeches, quote the bible and pray.
Woe to religious leaders; you are hypocrites because you travel around on sea and land to make converts who become twice the sons of hell as they are.
Woe to political leaders; you are hypocrites because you travel around on sea and land to earn votes and solicit campaign donations.
Woe to religious and political leaders; you are hypocrites! You pay your religious tithes but have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done.
Woe to religious and political leaders; you are hypocrites! You look righteous on the outside when you practicing your religion, but inside you are full of robbery and self-indulgence.

Woe to religious and political leaders; you are hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside you are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Prideful religious leaders and politicians make speeches and practice their religion to make themselves look good in the sight of men, but God knows their hearts. That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.
It is the job of political leaders to do justice.
We are surrounded by iniquity, wickedness, destruction, violence, strife and contention because wicked religious and political leaders ignore God’s laws and never do justice. Therefore justice comes out perverted.

If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the nation, do not be shocked at the sight; one political/religious leader watches over another political/religious leader, and there are higher political/religious leaders over them.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before him.
Psalm15: LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? 2 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; 3 whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; 4 who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the LORD; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; 5 who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.
Religious and political leaders make decisions favorable to people who bribe them.
Religious leaders receive pay to teach and prophesy while saying that God is directing their words and actions.

The violence of wicked religious/political leaders will sweep them away because they refuse to make laws that are just for all people.
Mockers stir up a nation, but wise people do not get angry and retaliate when it happens.
Drive out a mocker and strife, conflict, quarreling and insults will cease.
To be honest and just is more desirable than self-righteous religious activity and political activism.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless—but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow—if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments, and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.
Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! “The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord.“ I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening.