Tuesday; November 16
Often, we view the New Testament as a book of the heart, while relegating the Old Testament to a collection of facts and ordinances. While I do believe the New Testament is most directly applicable to Christians, there are teachings in the Old Testament that help us understand godliness and humanity. One of those passages is Leviticus 19:17-18, “You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. 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”. This is traditionally seen as a foundation upon which Jesus built His teaching about love, but I think there is an interesting aspect to it. You see, rather than merely saying “don’t mistreat each other”, the Lord takes it up a notch and demands that His people “love your neighbor”. In essence, it isn’t enough just not to do bad, we need to practice doing good. Th