HOW DO WE RULE OUR SPIRITS? 6. RULE WITH A SPIRIT OF LOVE continued.

Men, we are told in the Scriptures to “love our neighbor as ourselves” (Matthew 19:19). Most people love themselves enough to ensure they eat sufficient food to satisfy their appetite. The same thing applies to sufficient clothing, a roof over their heads, as well as transport to get around. Most people love themselves enough to keep themselves healthy by having some form of medical insurance. It would be better if they loved themselves enough to eat life-giving, healthy foods. Most people also love themselves enough to make sure they have sufficient education and their appearance and conduct is fashionable and appropriate to the occasion.

However, there is something wrong with this type of love if it doesn’t reach any further than ourselves. Love that purely concentrates on self with all its own individual needs could hardly be called the love of God.

God’s love is giving, generous, kind, and benevolent. God’s love shed abroad in our hearts changes our selfish love into concern for the needs of others around us. God’s love is more than giving away our cast offs to the needy. God does not give his cast offs. God’s love shed aboard in our hearts motivates us to give things we actually need. This could be the giving of our valuable time or the giving of money we have saved up for some special vacation we want for ourselves.

The love of God is a very powerful, motivating force that causes us to love to give more than to love to receive. If we turned the Scripture around concerning loving our neighbor as much as we love ourselves to loving ourselves as much as we love our neighbors, most of us would be on poverty street.

If we are to rule our spirits the way God wants, we had better be filled with the Holy Spirit of love more than anything else.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell