Things Jesus Did NOT Say In Telling Us To Love Our Neighbors

For awhile now, I’ve noticed a really disturbing trend, both in myself and in the church at large.  We are adding to Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors.  Here are some of the most common “additions” I’ve seen so far:

-“Love your neighbor only if they’re straight and are vehemently opposed to gay marriage.”

-“Love your neighbor only if they vote the way you do.”

-“Love your neighbor only if they interpret every last ounce of Scripture EXACTLY the way you do.”

We are called to love whoever G-d puts in front of us.  Loving them means acknowledging that G-d created them, and they are precious to Him.

Loving them means taking the log out of our own eyes, separating people from their issues, and admitting that we can’t possibly know everything about what causes same-sex attraction.  Loving our neighbors means embracing them as the individuals that they are.  Loving our neighbors means letting go of expectations and meeting them where they're at.

If Jesus wanted to create exceptions to the “love your neighbor” commandment, He would have.

But He didn’t.

Which means we don’t get to.