All the Same

DEVOTION
JAMES
ALL THE SAME
James 2:8-11
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
NIV
To love my neighbor as myself certainly requires self love to begin with. I must feel completely comfortable with who I am first. I cannot have bad feelings about myself for if I did how I would ever be able to love another. Maybe this favoritism toward me could be the sin talked about here. But then I am sure it also includes showing favoritism regarding other people. If I treat one person better than I treat another it is sin. If I love one person more then another it is sin. But wait, what about my family? Should I not love my wife more than anyone else? What about my daughters and granddaughters? Does this mean I should not show them more love than some stranger I come in contact with? Maybe I should ask who my neighbor is, but I already know it does in fact mean my fellow man. Maybe I should ask what kind of love this is. This is the agape love or love in a social or moral sense. That is different than the family love, so perhaps I can have a greater affection for my family and be alright. This is hard to comprehend. I am not sure I could ever accomplish this. Not loving everyone exactly same, as I love myself means I am guilty of all the law and deserve the penalty of death. Is that the point of these words? God must know it is impossible for any man to fulfill the whole law, in fact he does. That is why Jesus came. He came to fulfill the whole law so in him I too may do so. But I still must not ignore the law of God. I still must make every effort to love everyone equal. I still must not show one a greater affection than another. I must not treat anyone worse than I treat myself. This is not an easy task. I have much work to do yet within my being. There are some people who just rub me the wrong way. How do I love them? I get irritated with how some people behave, yet I have to love them. Wow! I need to allow the Holy Spirit to do more within me.