Great session last night. George Bailey is about as good a guy as anyone could hope to be. We agree he had a good moral compass, represented by his father, Peter and Peter's allegiance to the savings and loan and his "shabby little office." Yet, we asked, should George not have followed his dreams of travel, college and career? Didn't he fulfil his "virtual" contract with his brother and his family? Would it have been wrong for him to say "hey, it's my turn?"
This prompted a discussion of the two greatest commandments and we wondered how do we know that when we put our neighbors' needs before ours are we always doing it for the right reasons? (In last night's Gospel, Matthew 23:1-12, Jesus warns us about those people who talk a good line, and use their "power" to cite their will as God's Law. Does this apply to George? What about some of the other characters?
We also asked a question that we will ask for the rest of our lives: How do we know we are following God's Will? The best answer I heard last night was that if we truly believe that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, and all our soul and all our mind we are doing OK. The key here is "intention." Check out
Loving God With All Our Parts. Look forward to your comments. Thank you
Bob
In all of the Bible, only ten commandments were written by God.
ReplyDeleteThe first 3 teach how to love God: “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve,” “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” and “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
The remaining seven teach us how to love one another: “Honor your father and your mother,” “You shall not kill,” “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,” and “You shall not covet your neighbor’s property.”
So, loving God (the first Great commandment), and developing a relationship with God, is a central theme in a Christian life and it was a first priority for Jesus. The second Great commandment focuses on developing relationships and loving others. I don’t understand what “spiritual” means but if one is focused on eternal life, as the Bible and these commandments, and Jesus’ behavior demonstrate Commandment 1 is the first step, followed by 2.
If we are doing both then I think we are doing God's will.
Peace
Sal
Sal,
ReplyDeleteI agree that if we are following the "Two Great Commandments," we have the 10 "covered" and are following God's will. However, the question was raised as part of our discussion re: George Bailey, can you be faithful to one of the Two Commandments and not the other; are they mutualy exclusive or inclusive?
Thanks,
Bob