The Love Commandments

There are 2 Love Commandments.
1. Love God totally.
2. Love other people as you love yourself.

These commandments were first stated in the
Old Testament:
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your being and with all your
strength.  (Deuteronomy 6:5)
2. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  
(Leviticus 19:18)

These commandments were repeated by Jesus:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your being and with all your mind and
with all your strength [and] love your neighbor
as yourself.  (Matthew 22:37-9, Mark 12:30-1,
Luke 10:27)

Here love means self-giving or selfless love,
which seeks the other person’s welfare.

How do you love God?  Jesus (who was God
in human form) gave the answer as If you love
me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:
15; compare John 14:21 & 15:10).

Jesus said that on the commandments to love
God and your neighbor depend (or hang) the
whole Old Testament Law and the Prophets
(Matthew 22:40).  Paul later adds that the
person who loves his or her neighbor has
fulfilled (or carried out) the Old Testament law
(Romans 13:8 & Galatians 5:14).  Therefore
loving your neighbor as yourself can result in
you keeping the entire Old Testament law.

And how do you love (act for the welfare of)
your neighbor as yourself?  By not harming
your neighbor (Romans 13:10).  In practice
you would only do to other people what you
would want them to do to you.  This would
include both you and the other person fully
consenting to what is done or proposed, and
treating each other fairly.  It would also avoid
deception, force and injury.

As Joe Orton (a gay British author) said, You
must do whatever you like, as long as you
enjoy it and don’t hurt anyone else, that’s all
that matters.

In legal terms, you must take reasonable care to
avoid acts or omissions which you can
reasonably foresee would be likely to injure
your neighbor. (Lord Atkin, Donoghue v
Stevenson).

And who is your neighbor?  Any person you
come into contact with (See the story of the
Good Samaritan in Luke 10:29-37).  In a sexual
relations context, your neighbor means the
person you are having sex with and any third
party, e.g. the partner of that person.


The Golden Rule

You follow the Golden Rule for living by doing to
others what you would want them to do to you.  
Jesus expressed this as Treat people the
same way you want them to treat you
(Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31).  This would
include treating other people with kindness and
honor.  Similar expressions were stated by
Confucius, Aristotle, Socrates, the Jewish
Talmud (Shabbat 31a) and J S Mill.  The
Golden Rule sums up the Old Testament Law
and Prophets (Matthew 7:12).

Following this Rule helps to ensure that no
harm is done to other people.