“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Matthew 22:39). I think that we often understand the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves to mean that we are to love our neighbor to the same degree and intensity as we love our own selves. But I believe that there is a second meaning. To love our neighbor as ourselves can also mean to love our neighbor as only we can love them. In the same way that someone might tell you to “be yourself”, you can love “as yourself”, as only you and no one else can love. Our Heavenly Father placed us on this Earth so that we can love Him and each other with all of our heart, might, mind and strength. He gave us gifts, talents and abilities because He wants us to love and serve and build up all of our neighbors in a way that is unique to us, as ourselves. We can only ever love someone as ourselves. We could try to show our love the same way that our parents or our spouses or our siblings or our children or our friends do, but it would not be genuine and it would most likely cause more harm than good. We need to stop beating ourselves up because we don't show our love the same way that someone else seems to. And we need to stop expecting for our neighbors to love us in any other way than simply as themselves. If we put all of our heart, might, mind, and strength into loving in the best way that we know how, then our Heavenly Father will take care of the rest. God only wants me to love in the way that I love and He only wants you to love in the way that you love. I know that if we have the courage and the humility to be ourselves and to love our neighbors as ourselves, we will all feel the love of God abounding in our hearts.
