The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:1-2, 18
The book of Leviticus, one of the five books of the Torah, or Old Testament Law, is not one of the most accessible books of the Bible. It is full of laws and instructions on how sacrifices and worship were to be made to God. The laws were given to preserve proper relationships with God and one’s neighbors, and it contains one of the most quoted verses of the bible, one Jesus himself later used when summarizing the whole point of the law God had given, sometimes called The Golden Rule — “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
This verse assumes that our ability to love other people will match our ability to love and care for ourselves. But often this is exactly what’s lacking — a proper sense of love and care for our own body and soul. Your ability to love others will rise and fall along with your ability to love yourself.
Today, reflect on what aspect of your life — body, soul, and spirit — is lacking attention. What part of you feels tired and neglected? Ask God for the wisdom to see where you need to be more attentive and caregiving toward yourself.