The First Commandment

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

     When we think of the word “commandment” we often think of the Ten Commandments. There is, however, something that is greater than these. As Christ taught in Matthew chapter 22, the greater commandment is to love the Lord and to love others with all of our heart, soul, and mind. That’s a very complete kind of love.

     Why is that the greatest commandment? When we put the love of God, Christ, and Heavenly Father’s children as our first priority for obedience in our lives the other commandments fall into place. Would we disrespect the Sabbath if we loved the Lord? Would we steal, kill, or envy if we really wanted others to he happy and successful in life? We couldn’t. The actions that we are told to abandon in the Ten Commandments are in direct opposition to act of love.

     Think about those that are physically present in your life. Do you love them? If so, would you steal from them? Would you put someone else before them? Probably not. Our love binds us to a person and makes it so that we want their happiness. If we love God and His happiness in achieved through our obedience then our love brings our obedience. This is why the commandment to love is greater than the Ten. Through love, perfect obedience can happen.