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istics of a total and pure !ove could
be understood both by example and
through legal principies. The nature
of Jesus' function was central to
both aspects. As a human, he was an
example of what a full-love person–
ality could be. Secondly, he verbally
made the !ove concept clear to his
intimate circle of disciples. (The
Gospels contain the essence of that
explanation.)
This carpenter from Galilee
showed how it was possible for
in–
human
beings to have themselves
made over into the same kind of
love-personaüty that he was. On
a
grand scale. this could create a so–
ciety, if not "perfect," at leas t defi–
nitely heading into "perfection,"
rather than always hovering on the
abyss of disintegration and chaos.
Jesus expressed in his own life the
very personality and nature of tota l
!ove. For example, he possessed
complete concern for others. To
make this concept clear. he used the
famous example of the prodiga! son.
lt demonstrated the compassion
with which the nature of Jesus was
endowed. Here is a portion of the
account as it appears in the J. B.
Phillips translation:
The Prodiga) Son Parable
"Once there was a man who had
two sons. The younger one said to
his father, ' Father, give me my
share of the property that will come
to me.' So he divided up his estale
between the lwo of them. Before
very long, lhe younger son collected
all his belongings and wenl off lo a
distanl land, where he squandered
his wealth in lhe wildest extrava–
gance ....
"Then he carne lo his senses and
cried aloud, 'Why. dozens of my
falher's hired men have got more
food than lhey can eat and here am
1 dying of hunger! 1 will get up and
go back to my father, and 1 will say
10
him: " Falher,
1
have done wrong
in the sight of Heaven and in your
eyes. 1 don't deserve to be called
22
your son any more. Please take me
on as one of your hired men." '
"So he got up and went to his
father, But while he was still sorne
distance off, his falher saw him and
his heart wenl out to him, and he
ran and fell on his neck and kissed
him" (Luke 15: 12-20).
Concern, which the above ex–
ample shows, is one aspect of the
concept of !ove. There is also an–
other important and related facet of
!ove: restricti ng one's actions to
those acts which will produce the
greatest good and happiness for all.
Jesus showed that humans would
have to restrict their
own
antisocial
actions
if
they expected others to do
so.
A human could not expect to
steaL murder, take someone else's
mate and still have the victim !ove
him. Though Jesus counseled turn–
ing the other cheek, he made it clear
that no society could continue to
function when true !ove was absent.
The easiest way to explain the
meaning of this vital part of the
"way of Jove" is to point out tha t
there are two broad applications of
!ove. One part has to do with !ove
toward other humans. It is a sort of
law against the excesses of human
nature - the
very problem
of hu–
manity.
Love Toward Humans
Although love is best understood
by action and example, it can be
broken down into abstract poinls
and stated legally. In shorl , !ove
toward humans may be stated as:
( 1) Honor your parents, (2) Don' t
murder, (3) Don' t sleal, (4) Don't
commi t adultery, (5) Don't lie, (6)
Don'l covet. Slaled posilively in one
principie, these poinls mean:
have
concern and respect for others in
every aspecr oftheir lives.
Oras Jesus
put it, the second great command–
menl is to " Love your neighbor as
yourself."
Obviously. if these precepts are
kept in their fu ll intent, killing. ha-
tred, war, stealing and a full spec–
trum of man's baser actions would
disappear. No doubt the reader will
recognize the above points as the
last six of the Ten Commandments
found in the Bible
in
the book of
Exodus.
Human ldols and Gods
There is, however, a second broad
aspect of !ove. It has to do with the
reference point around which an in–
dividual human Jife is centered. A
human must have a goal in order to
accomplish. Even the person who
accomplishes nothing has a goal; his
goal is simply to accomplish noth–
ing. A few examples will explain.
A young girl may have a burning
ambition to become a movie aclress.
This becomes the reference point
which de termines what she eats,
how she dresses, how she acts, who
she wants to meet. The word "star"
presupposes, a t least to sorne de–
gree, a particular life-style.
It
may
include an almost overwhelming de–
sire for fame and stardom.
Therefore, in the extreme, all this
girl's life activities will center
around the concept "actress." The
word actress can now easily assume
the proport ion of "god." The girl
does everything for "actress" as an
ancient Babylonian mighl have
done for his or her idol. l n fact, the
word ido! has been used in reference
to the concept of actor or actress.
On the olher side of the spectrum
may be the traditional American
lramp. His "god" is the cheap wine
and the life-style that " tramp" pre–
supposes. The wino would fig–
uratively sell his soul for a bottle.
He may or may not be miserable.
But he is hooked by his life-style; it
has become his "god."
And to varying degrees, every
human has a "god."
lt
can be a
literal ido! as the manifestation of
sorne tribal religion; it can be a na–
tion, a family. money, success or a
combination of all of them.
But every human must have a ref-
PLAIN TRUTH July-August 1973