Biblical Answer

The biblical command to love our neighbors as ourselves is rooted in the understanding that human beings derive their meaning from outside themselves, from God in whose image they are made. This means that we are not autonomous individuals, creating ourselves constantly, but rather beings who are created and sustained by a loving God. The command to love our neighbors as ourselves is not about feeling fond of them or finding them attractive, but rather about demonstrating love to them as an act of obedience to God. This love for our neighbors flows out of our love for God Himself and includes demonstrating love to unbelievers, even those who treat us with antagonism and enmity.

The command to love our neighbors as ourselves is not just a moral or ethical principle, but a profound treatment for failure and shame. When we fail to love our neighbors, we are not just failing in a moral or ethical sense, but also in our relationship with God. As Augustine says, we cannot both love ourselves first and foremost and love God first and foremost. We can be ordered toward love of God, in which case we love ourselves properly too. This means that our love for our neighbors is not just about how we treat them, but also about how we are ordered toward God.

In a chaotic world, loving our neighbors as ourselves means being a bright light in a dark place. When believers react without violence, but in ways marked by love and righteousness, they shine like a bright light in a dark world (Matthew 5:12-16). This is consistent with the biblical command to love our neighbors as ourselves. It means that we are not just individuals who are trying to survive and reproduce, but rather beings who are created and sustained by a loving God, and who are called to demonstrate that love to our neighbors. When we do this, we are not just fulfilling a moral or ethical principle, but also living out our relationship with God. As the Bible says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). In this sense, loving our neighbors as ourselves is not just a moral or ethical principle, but a fundamental aspect of our relationship with God.