What does it really mean to love my neighbor? Quoting from this Old Testament passage, Jesus told us that showing love to our neighbors summed up a big portion of what the Law of Moses was all about. And today’s passage helps us see that love for our neighbors goes far beyond warm feelings for them. In fact, here we find several practical ways that we can express such love, particularly where it comes to our words and our property.

Now, it’s obvious that if we love others we won’t steal their things. But verse 13 shows us that love goes beyond mere theft. If we owe something to someone, we should be prompt in paying it. After all, some folks live from paycheck to paycheck, so any delay could cause them big problems.

But we must go beyond simply paying what we owe. In order to help the poor, verses 9 and 10 tell us that the best thing to do is to give them a job. Even if we could really do it ourselves, and even if it might cost us quite a bit, love for our neighbors means giving the needy an opportunity to make a living.

But Moses also tells us that love for our neighbors must include being honest with them. If we are to give the poor a hand up, we must not put our thumb on the scales of justice in order to do so (v. 15). Moreover, love not only means avoiding slander (v. 16), but also reasoning frankly with one another (v. 17) – something we Southerners tend not to do so well.

But Moses reminds us that such generosity and honesty tends to diffuse all kinds of personal tensions (v. 17) – after all, if we really love others, we want our relationships with them to be free from misunderstandings, right? Yes, we need to nip all those problems in the bud, before we develop a desire for vengeance or start nursing a grudge (v. 18).

So today, how can we create opportunities for others to prosper? How can we use our words to pursue justice and to bring healing to broken relationships? In short, how can we seek to love one another?

Leviticus 19:9-18 (NASB)

9 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
10 ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.
11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.
12 ‘And you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.
13 ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.
14 ‘You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the LORD.
15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
16 ‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD.
17 ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.
18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.