Matthew 22:39 “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

God’s commandments direct our love away from ourselves. With this commandment the Lord is establishing a priority of God first, others second, ourselves after that.

“But doesn’t this command say we are to love them as we love ourselves?” Some might object. “Doesn’t that put us on the same level as others?” Maybe Whitney Houston had something there when her hit song claimed, “Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.”

But no, Jesus is clear about the order: Love God first, love your neighbor second. He doesn’t say we are to hate or neglect ourselves. But “as you love yourself” is a description of how we love our neighbor. It’s shorthand for “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It is not another way to think about the priorities God has established.

So Jesus is also showing us that the law of love is generally a call away from ourselves. He calls us to be less concerned with ourselves so that we can live a life of serving others. There is a subtle temptation to take interest in commandment keeping because we expect blessing for ourselves if we do so. Paul even points out that the fourth commandment, “Honor your father and mother,” has a promise attached to it: “That it may go well with you and that you may live long on the earth.” In other words, do what your parents say, and you will have a better life. You might even live longer.

We could create a list of blessings that line up with each of the commandments God has given. Live life God’s way, and there are specific problems you can avoid. Specific blessings wait for you. Even our government’s laws work that way. Perhaps you have seen this sign in construction zones: “Don’t hit our workers, avoid 10,000 dollar fine.”

Popular preaching often approaches God’s law like this. Do what God says, and your family will work better, you will get along better with your friends, your body will be healthier, your career will take off, and your life will be blessed.

It’s not that this is entirely false. God designed the world so that when we do what he says good things happen. But if that is our main reason for doing what he says, doesn’t that reinforce our selfishness in a subtle way? If all we care about is finding blessing for ourselves, we aren’t really loving God or our neighbor. We are only loving ourselves. That is nothing like the love that passes the test.

Because we struggle to love our neighbor so, we need the one who loved his neighbor more than he loved himself, who sacrificed his life to spare ours. We need Jesus to pay for our sins and set us free from them. If these commandments help us see our need for a Savior, they have done us a far greater service than distinguishing right from wrong. They have made us ready to meet Love himself. They have made it possible to see how great God’s love for us must be.