Love Your Neighbor, No Exceptions! by Rev. Teresa Stuefloten, M.Div. 2/8/2026

I recently bought a t-shirt from the Friends Committee on National Legislation that says, “Love Your Neighbor, No Exceptions.” I wore that t-shirt to my exercise class, and one person looked at it and said, “Oh, sure!” I think that actually, what this person said out loud is what most of us think, whether we say it or not. “Love that person who voted for the people causing all of this? Oh sure! No way!” “Love that person who did that terrible thing? Oh sure! No way!” “Love that person who demonizes immigrants and encourages people to hate them? Oh sure! No way!” “Love that person who has a religious faith I don’t believe in? Oh sure! No way!” "Love that person who is mean and rude to everyone? Oh sure! No way!” “Love that person who insults me? Oh sure! No way!” “Love that person who displays hate symbols on their car? Oh sure! No way!” “Love that person who flipped me off when I was just trying to merge onto the freeway? Oh sure! No way!”

The mistake we make when we think we cannot love some certain person is that we think we are loving the ego, the small self of that person that exists for the sake of functioning in the physical world. The ego, the small self is often selfish, arrogant, and petty. The ego has very thin skin. The ego sees slights as an offense to itself and it is constantly defending itself. And the ego constantly sees the words and actions of others as slights. The ego’s greatest fear is that it will be destroyed, it will cease to exist. And this is actually the truth, because when the physical body dies, the ego dies with it, The ego is no longer needed because the soul is returning to the realm of pure Spirit.

What we are being asked to do in loving our neighbor is to see beyond the small ego self to the higher Truth of the Soul, the higher True Self with a capital S. The true Self is magnanimous. It is loving, caring and kind. The higher true Self knows itself to be one with the Divine and one with all other beings, We are all expressions of the One. In truth there is no “other," because we are One.

Our true identity, that we are all Divine expressions, is found in Genesis, at the very beginning of the Hebrew-Christian Bible. “Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…so God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

The Earth plane could be called Earth School. It’s where we go to learn and grow. We bring in with us the impressions in our consciousness from former lifetimes. These impressions color our experience of Earth life, making it either easier or more difficult to see beyond the surface of the physical life on Earth. We are souls, but often we have forgotten. This is why our spiritual practices are so important. The worldly influences of materialism and shallow living can easily lead us astray. What helps us to see Truth is our spiritual practices. Daily meditation and prayer bring us into the experience of our Soul, our true Self.

The command to love your neighbor is found several times in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Matthew 22:35-40 relates a Pharisee questioning Jesus, “And one of them who knew the law, asked him, testing him, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “Love the Lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like to it, Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang the law and the prophets.”

This is stated again in Mark 12:28-31, where Jesus is asked by a scribe, “Which is the first commandment of all?’ Jesus said to him, “The first of the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord; and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your might; this is the first commandment. And the second is like to it, You must love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Loving your neighbor is as important as loving God. This is made abundantly clear by Christ Jesus. We are to love our neighbor as we love God, and as we love ourselves. This means it is very important to love ourselves.

We are Divine Expressions of God, so in truly loving ourselves, we are honoring the God that is the Truth of us. This is loving our Soul, the true Self of us. It is not glorifying the ego, the small self of our physical earthly expression. In loving and talking good care of ourselves we honor the Truth of our Divinity. As we make food for ourselves we can bring attention to the food nourishing the Divine Self, and make healthy food that honors our true identity. When we go to bed on time and get adequate rest, nurturing the physical body as our Divine Temple, we can bring attention to honoring the Divine within us so that we can shine forth our brilliance into the world of form. We can move the physical body and get adequate exercise that strengthens the body temple. And we can think positively about ourselves, letting go of our mistakes of the past and giving ourselves grace. When we are loving ourselves, being kind, caring, compassionate and generous with ourselves, then we are prepared to love our neighbor.

The question often arises, “Who is my neighbor?” Is my neighbor the people who live next door, the people who live on my street, or the people who live in my part of my city? Is my neighbor everyone in my city, everyone in my state, everyone in my country?

God made the world as one whole, and made humanity as one whole. God did not make the earth with barriers that divide the land or the seas. The earth is one whole. Barriers are created by humans, who want to own and divide. Barriers are created by humans who want to steal and acquire more land through war and suffering. Barriers are created through greediness and covetousness. Barriers are created by seeing the ego and not the soul of our neighbors. Barriers are created through the false idea that we, as humans, own anything, when in reality everything belongs to God.

So, who is my neighbor? Everyone is my neighbor! Love your neighbor, no exceptions! We are to love everyone. We are to love everyone at the soul level. We are to honor the Truth of the innate Divinity of each person’s Soul. Life is sacred. We are each a temple of the Divine.

There is a lot of hating others going on in the world right now. It makes me wonder if the people who are hating do not love themselves. If you do not truly accept yourself you will project that out onto others and find fault in others. If you hate yourself you will hate others. Remember the verse says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

We have all made mistakes in living life in a physical body with an ego in the Earth realm. There is a saying, “Let go and let God.” So what if you let go of self-judgment and embraced your Divinity, embraced your Soul? What would happen? You would be living from the Soul! Why not try it and see?

One way we can love our neighbors is to learn their names. I go to exercise classes at my community center and there are sometimes close to 100 people in the class! I have made it a practice to learn the names of the people who regularly sit near me. And if I notice a new person close by I introduce myself. I keep a small tablet in my purse where I try to remember to record the names of those I have recently met. This helps me to remember, and everyone likes it when someone remembers their name. Doesn’t it feel so much more friendly when someone knows your name? And give everyone you meet a smile!

In Divine Science we say, “The Christ in me greets the Christ in you.” Though you would probably not say this out loud in a secular setting, you can think this thought within as you greet someone, or smile at someone and they will feel the vibration of your loving thought.

In India and Nepal, the word Namaste’ means “I bow to you.” It means “The Divine in me honors the Divine in you.” Or, “I bow to the Divine Light in you.”

In Luke, chapter 10, Jesus is asked the question, “Who is my neighbor?” As he liked to do, Jesus responded with a teaching story:

Jesus said to him, There was a man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and bandits attacked him and robbed him and beat him and left him with little life remaining in him, and they went away.

And it chanced a priest was going down that road; and he saw him and passed on.

And likewise a Levite came and arrived at that place, and saw him and passed on.

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.

And he came to him and bound up his wounds and poured on them wine and oil; and he put him on his own donkey and brought him to the inn and took care of him.

And in the morning he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, and said him, Take care of him; and whatever you spend more, when I return I will give it to you.

Who, therefore of these three, as it appears to you, became neighbor to him who fell into the hands of the bandits?

He said, The one who had compassion on him. Jesus said to him, You go also, and do likewise. Luke 10:30-37

This is the story commonly known as The Parable of the Good Samaritan. The relations between the Jews and the Samaritans at the time of Jesus were mostly negative. The Jews hated the Samaritans and looked down them as outsiders who worshipped God in a way that the Jews considered inferior. So for the Samaritan to be the one in the story who acted with love, attending to the man who was beaten and robbed, and at his own expense, says that those we look down upon are our neighbors, and they may even be acting in a higher way of Love.

In one of my talks in January I told you a story from a children’s book title “Folktales for a Better World’ by Elizabeth Laird and Mehrdokht Amini. I promised that you would hear more stories from this book, because as a retired teacher, I love children’s books that tell important truths in a simple way. So here is another story from that book.

The story is titled “The Emir and the Angel” and it is a story from Afghanistan.

   Once there lived a selfish Emir who ruled over a great                        kingdom. He cared not at all for his subjects. In fact, he                squeezed every penny he could out of them in taxes, so that           he could buy more gold, more beautiful horses, more                         sumptuous clothes and dazzling jewels.

   All the time, outside the palace walls, his people became poorer and poorer and their children never had enough to eat.

   One night, an angel appeared to the Emir in a dream.

   “Emir,” said the angel. “Why are you making your subjects’ lives so miserable?”

   The Emir was astonished.

   “I’m not making anyone’s life miserable!’ he objected. “Everyone loves me. Whenever I go outside my palace they bow so low their dirty noses actually scrape the ground. Why should I care about them anyway?”

   “Don’t you even know how unjust you are?” Demanded the angel. “From now on, be kind and fair to your people. Change your ways before it’s too late!”

   Then he disappeared.

   When the Emir woke up the next morning, he put his dream out of his mind and went off to hunt.

   Out in the desert, a gazelle leaped up in front of him. The Emir chased after it, riding so fast that he left his servants, his dogs, his hawks, and his hunting cheetahs far behind.

   Suddenly, the gazelle disappeared, and a violent wind sprang up. It tore off the Emir’s clothes and shredded his fine clothes till they looked like rags. It flung first into his eyes and hair. It picked up his horse and hurled it all the way back to the palace stables. The Emir was so frightened that he dropped to the ground and fainted.

   When he came around he found himself lying in a tent. A man was looking down at him.

   “Who are you?” asked the Emir.

   “I’m a shepherd,” answered the man.

   ‘Where are all my servants? And my horse?” demanded the Emir.

   “What servants?” said the man. “You must have lost your wits. Rest here until you’re better.”

   The Emir shuddered and sat up.

   “Stay here? In this humble tent? Don’t you know your Emir?” he demanded. “Bow down to me, fool, or I’ll have your head cut off!”

   The shepherd burst out laughing.

   “You? The Emir? That’s rich! Look at yourself! Your clothes are in rags, your hair’s all matted and full of sand, and you haven’t even got any shoes!”

   “But I am the Emir,” protested the Emir. “And if you don’t take me back to my palace at once, I’ll…I’ll…”

   “Take you to the palace? I wouldn’t dare!” said the shepherd. “The cruel Emir’s guards would never let me near the gates. I can see that the storm’s made you lose your wits. Don’t worry. I’ll look after you.”

   The Emir had no choice but to accept the kind shepherd’s hospitality. Days passed, and when at last the tent was packed up and the shepherd moved on, he took the Emir with him.

   A few days later, they came to the city and there, its golden domes glinting in the sun, was the Emir’s palace.

   “I’m home!” Shouted the Emir, running toward the huge gates without even saying thank you to the shepherd.

   The guards leaped forward to bar his way.

   “Stand aside!” roared the Emir. “Your master has returned. Let me in or I’ll have you whipped!”

   The guards roared with laughter.

   “Get back, you rascal, or we’ll throw you in prison!”

   “But surely you know me?” pleaded the Emir. “You used to see me every day!”

   “How can you be the Emir, when he’s right there, in the courtyard?” answered one of the soldiers. “Take a look yourself.” And he stood back so that the Emir could see past him.

   The Emir stared back in horror, because sitting on the throne, was a figure who looked exactly like him, dressed in his own clothes. A brilliant golden light shone around him.

   “It’s the angel from my dream!” breathed the Emir. “He’s taken my place!

   A new life began for the Emir. He had to sleep in doorways and stand with the other beggars when the new Emir came out of the palace to give out food. When his turn came, he looked up with wonder into the dazzling face of the angel.

   Everywhere he went, he heard people talking about the change in their Emir.

   “The taxes have been cut in half!”

   “He listens when people go to him for justice!”

   “He helps the sick and the poor!”

   “He never used to care how much we suffered. He’s like a different man!”

   The Emir listened and learned what a bad ruler he had been.

    One cold night, as he shivered in the street, trying to keep warm, he heard shouts from inside a nearby house and saw flames bursting out of a window.

   “Help!” screamed a woman. “My children are inside! Someone save them!”

   The Emir dashed in through the door, ignoring the flames. He found the children huddled in a corner, lifted them up and carried them out to safety as the house collapsed behind him.

   The next time the Emir held out his hands to receive the usual gift of food, the angel smiled at him.

   “You did well,” he said. “Soon you’ll have your reward.”

   Now the Emir began to notice other people he could help, old men weighed down with heavy loads, travelers needing a guide to show them their way, poor women struggling to push their handcarts through the crowded streets.

   They all thanked him and shared with him the little they had- fruit from a market stall, a few coins, fresh bread from the bakery.

   “Why did I never know my people before?” He said out loud one day. “How good and kind they are! If only I was their Emir again, how different I would be!”

   As soon as he had spoken, the angel appeared in front of him.

   ‘You’ve learned your lesson,” he said to the Emir. “Go back to your old life and be a fair and kind ruler.”

   He disappeared, and in the place where he’d stood lay a heap of royal clothes.

   Joyfully, the Emir dressed himself and ran to the palace. This time the guards swung the heavy doors open to let him in.

   From that time on, no one in the Emir’s kingdom went hungry, no greedy officials were allowed to steal from the poor, the bullies were punished and everyone who asked for justice received it. Even the cats prowling outside the palace were given their daily milk, and the doves on the rooftop were never without a scattering of corn. (End of story)

This is the story of a person stuck in the ego consciousness of the lower small self. The person sees only their own wants and needs, putting their own desires ahead of the happiness and wellbeing of others. This person’s love is selfishly and egotistically focused on himself. He doesn’t love his neighbor. He dismisses their needs as unimportant. He only loves himself. But is that even truly love? 

Through adversity he is forced to walk a mile in the shoes of his neighbors. He is lifted in consciousness to his higher true Self, seeing the goodness and value of his neighbors. He learns to love his neighbors as himself and to want the best for them. He sees his neighbors from the Soul level. He learns to love selflessly. He becomes a blessing. Now he is living from the Soul.

I invite you to do a very short exercise with me now. Close your eyes and put your hands over your heart. Breathe into your heart chakra and allow the Divine Love and Light within you to expand… You are an expression of Divine Love and Light… Every other being is also an expression of Divine Love and Light at their core. See every soul on planet Earth as a Divine Light, a perfect Soul, a being of perfect Divine Love…See planet Earth lighting up with all of this Divine Love and Light… From your heart chakra send Divine Love and Light to every being on planet Earth… Feel your heart overflowing with Divine Love as you connect with all Souls in Divine Love… These are your neighbors. Open your eyes, allowing this Divine Love to remain in your heart. Go about your day as a Divine Light of Love. I invite you to do this exercise daily, sending the Divine Love and Light that we so desperately need right now. Love your neighbor, no exceptions!