Love your Neighbor as Yourself
Narrowing the idea that personally impacted me down to one specific quote from Mere Christianity proved to be too much for me to handle, because what struck me the most was almost the entirety of chapter seven in book three, entitled "Forgiveness". Rest assured, quotes shall be utilized in my reflection, so that portion of the assignment will not be neglected. Let's dive in!
In "Forgiveness", C.S. Lewis breaks down the concept of loving your neighbor as yourself, a commandment declared by Christ in Mark 12:31. Lewis challenges himself with the question "how exactly do I love myself?" I read this sentence, and not a moment later I scribbled down an annotation. My initial thoughts flashed to the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
It seemed so simple to me. The idea "love your neighbor as yourself" and the Golden Rule appeared synonymous, evoking the same response from a Christian: "Be nice to others. Why? Because you want them to be nice to you. Also, because God told you to, so you should probably listen to Him." The analysis of *cue mocking, deep British voice* "how EXACTLY we love ourselves", the divining of the exact reasoning behind how we love ourselves and why sounded irrelevant.
Then I read it. I was wrong.
C.S. Lewis explains a love for others that is a lot deeper than saying 'please' and 'thank you' and sharing your crayons. It's not flowery either; it is real and multi-dimensional, with striking implications I had never really considered before.
As individuals we don't particularly feel very fond of ourselves. Neither do we think we are always incredibly nice either. In his reasoning, C.S. Lewis says it is "my self-love [that] makes me think myself nice, but thinking myself nice is not why I love myself" (116). Therefore, loving our neighbor does not mean we have to be fond of them, nor do we have to think they are nice. This idea is pretty straight forward, and actually quite a relief.
It's the second part that I struggled with. C.S. Lewis sums it up: "I can look back on some of the things I have done with horror and loathing. So apparently I am allowed to loathe and hate some of the things my enemies do" (117). Basically, hate the sin, but still love the sinner.
This was difficult for me for a very long time, particularly in regards to sexually immoral people. My church was so closed-minded towards anyone with sexual sins: people who had sex and/or lived together before marriage, homosexuals, etc. Sexual immorality was so hated and despised that as a young impressionable child, I did not differentiate between sin and sinner. For example, and to my shame, if I even heard a man talk effeminately, I would immediately judge and condemn in my mind. It was so wrong, so un-Christlike. As I've matured, I have been able to free myself of such instantaneous, harsh judgment. Of course I am still not perfect, but reading this section of Mere Christianity really struck home with me as a reminder, and taught me a new way to imagine the love I had previously neglected.
To wrap up, I guess if I had to choose one quote to embody the idea that caused the most personal reflection, it'd be this: "Wish that [your neighbor] were not bad, to hope that he may, in this world or another, be cured: in fact, to wish his good" (120). This is exactly the mindset I aspire to and pursue. You love them. You don't have to think they're nice, or be fond of them, or ignore their sin. You want them to be good, like Christ was good, and hope that your love for them can be a means to that end.
So, yeah, that was my whole thought process that I went through when I read this chapter. Don't get me wrong, I still think the Golden Rule is important, and is a great tool to use in the instruction of little children. However, the implications of it for me are too shallow now. It says nothing of this love as Lewis describes. Perhaps it was not all totally new and mind-blowing. Regardless, it was still an eye-opener for me, that made me want to apply the concept in the the context of my life. I am more considerate of my actions and thoughts in regards to this subject, to say the least. It is a beautiful thing.
First off, I just wanted to say that this is extremely well written. This flowed so nicely. You're an amazing writer. Okay.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we chose really similar quotes, from the same page, actually. I like that you took something that is used and talked about so much that, as much as I hate to say it, is almost clichéd, but you went a lot deeper and added on to it.
Wishing good for your neighbor is something I think all of us struggle with. The Golden Rule is the Golden Rule, but if we're all being honest, we're usually nice to others because we want them to be nice back and, like you said, because God told us to.
This topic you dealt with, about actually wanting good for your neighbors, goes a lot deeper than that and I think requires more guidance from God and a change within us to be able to be humble enough to want them to be good. Feel the love.
Wow, not all of what I typed actually posted but I hope you get what I'm trying to say because I forgot the rest of what I typed. But basically, this was really awesome and deep.
ReplyDeleteAhhhhh Madi, you write so well!
ReplyDeleteI love what you wrote about here. Having also grown up equating the Golden Rule with "love your neighbor as yourself," this quote also impacted me a great deal. Even though it seemed fairly obvious after I reached the conclusion that the two are not, in fact, the same after I read this section, Lewis's words were such a slap in the face. I've been struggling for a long time about how I could possibly love people when I had to hate the things they do. This section opened my eyes to how I do things that I regret and beat myself up about later, but that doesn't mean that I have to hate myself, and it means that I don't have to hate other people because of their mistakes.
You put all my thoughts into such beautiful words! Love ya Madi :)
Once again you've dazzled me with your incredible writing prowess. Loving myself and others is something I also struggle with. Thank you for so eloquently explaining the simplicity and difficulties of living the golden rule and making it so much more applicable and accessible.
ReplyDeleteSee? This is why English teachers need a word like "bangarang" in their vocabulary. Because sometimes "good job" does not suffice.
ReplyDeleteBangarang reflection, bangarang writing, bangarang truth, and bangarang "voice." You've got killer "voice" Madison.
Great challenging extension of Lewis' words. It's clear they've inspired your classmates, and they challenge/inspire me as well!
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