To love one’s neighbour as oneself

Another read, another lesson that gently corrected my past way of thinking. I used to believe that people should simply mind their own business, even when they see someone doing what’s wrong. As the popular saying goes, “drink water and mind your business.” But today’s reading opened my eyes to the subtle harm hidden in that mindset, a practice that’s now so highly glorified and often mistaken for respect.

The Lecture “The Religion of Love” from the Grail Message made me see this practice through a different lens. It explained that “Genuine love will take no account of what gratifies the other, of what is agreeable to him and gives him joy, but will only direct itself towards what will benefit him, regardless of whether it affords him pleasure or not… Misplaces indulgence would mean fostering the faults of the enemies and thus letting them slide further on the downward path… by acting thus one would burden oneself with guilt!”

As someone striving to love her neighbour as herself, just as Jesus Christ admonished, this lecture holds profound meaning for me. It helped me truly understand what that teaching entails, that to genuinely love someone, whether friend or foe, we must not encourage or enable their faults or bad habits. Such encouragement can manifest in many subtle ways, through our words, our thoughts, our actions, and even our inactions.

Before I embraced the now-glorified practice of “drinking water and minding one’s business,” I had a different approach. Whenever I noticed someone displaying a behaviour I felt was wrong, I would silently say a prayer, asking for guidance on how to help them in the right way and for the right opportunity to present itself. And I would also strive to understand why the individual is engaging in such behaviour, to see beyond the surface and respond with empathy, not judgement. Interestingly, most times, that opportunity would naturally unfold. In those moments, I found the person far more receptive than when I tried to intervene impulsively without first pausing to pray and wait for the right timing.

However, through my own personal experience of receiving several unwanted opinions, each one crowding my mind with noise, I became hesitant to speak up when I noticed a behaviour I felt was wrong. But with this new awareness, I’ve come to realise that what truly matters is how we communicate, understanding the reasoning behind such behaviour, and the wisdom to first pray for guidance on the right way to help rather than reacting impulsively in the moment.

So today, thanks to this lecture, I am reminded of what it truly means to love one’s neighbour as oneself. If ever you see me doing something you perceive is wrong, please correct me if the reason behind my behaviour is wrong, and do this with gentle love and guided words ❤️.