"Love God supremely and your neighbor as yourself. And it is this supreme law of love for God and for man that I also declare to you as constituting the whole duty of man." 142:3.22 (1599.14)
This distills the essence of spiritual and ethical living into a single, powerful principle. At its core, it asserts that the highest calling for any person is to love—first and foremost, to love God with all one’s heart, mind, and soul. This supreme love for the divine is not merely an emotion, but a guiding commitment that shapes every aspect of life, inspiring reverence, devotion, and a desire to align oneself with the will of the eternal.
The second part of the commandment—to love one’s neighbor as oneself—extends this love beyond the spiritual realm into the daily interactions and relationships of human existence. It calls for empathy, compassion, and fairness, urging individuals to treat others with the same care and respect they wish for themselves. This dual commandment forms a complete framework for living, suggesting that all other moral obligations are secondary to, or derived from, this foundational law of love. By loving God supremely and loving others as oneself, a person fulfills the “whole duty of man,” as it declares.
Ultimately, this teaching offers a vision of life that is both simple and profound. It invites us to see love as the unifying force that connects us to the divine and to one another. When love is the guiding principle, our actions, decisions, and relationships are infused with meaning and purpose. It reminds us that, in the end, the measure of a life well-lived is not found in personal achievements or material success, but in the depth and breadth of our love for God and for our fellow human beings.
