Do I Love My Neighbor?

“Don’t tell me what to do! It’s my right to do what I want!” We hear this all the time.

Ever since America was settled, we have had a constant tug-of-war between two distinct and valid viewpoints: “my rights as an individual” versus “what’s best for the common good.” We see this tension play out in everyday situations. Sometimes we resolve it, but sometimes we leave it unanswered, because, well, it’s just too hard.

On occasion, our society has answered the question:

• We’ve pretty much decided that it’s not someone’s right to drive drunk and endanger others on the highway. Laws have been passed.
• We’ve decided that people shouldn’t be forced to breathe air that contains cancer-causing agents from secondhand smoke, or from the factory floor. Laws have been passed.
• We’ve decided that my right to own a military-style weapon wins out over the danger that the use of that weapon might result in multiple deaths. The second amendment has prevailed.

But often we have trouble figuring out whether “individual rights” should prevail. Maybe folks are too angry to listen to one another. Maybe financial interests cloud judgments. Maybe we truly just can’t decide what’s best.

Here’s the thing: Christ left behind a really simple rule which can serve us as a guide in these decisions. When he was asked, “What’s the greatest commandment,” he actually gave two commandments, the second of which was, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

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Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37 (NLT)

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How does this apply to everyday life? Simple. No matter what my own rights are, my neighbor’s rights are at least as important. If I truly want to treat my neighbor with the same care as I would want, then I will never behave in such a way that might harm my neighbor.

We’re living this out today: consider face-masks, which have been shown important to Covid virus control. The mask doesn’t protect the wearer so much as it protects everyone around him or her. A University of California study has determined that if 80% of people were to wear face-masks, then the rate of transmission of the Covid virus would be cut to 8.3% of its former rate. Other countries have used this simple strategy to simply stop the virus in its tracks.

Why don’t we do this as a country? Well, it’s the old “individual rights” debate again. America’s people seem to resist being told to do anything, even if it’s for the common good.

Maybe it’s time we learned to apply Christ’s teachings to everyday life: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Then the decision to wear a mask wouldn’t need a law—just consideration of our neighbor.