Love. Should it really be the reason for everything you do? Love God, love one another… Jesus says the entire Law of God hangs on these two things. This must be an important idea because it’s echoed by John (the Apostle of love), Paul, Peter and others (Mark 12:30-31, John 13:34, 1 Corinthians 13, and 1 John 4:7 for starters). The Law of GOD hangs on loving Him and loving one another. If God’s anything at all, then He’s Creator of nature and all its laws- so this love thing? It can’t be merely theoretical. It must be practical. It’s not just for religion. It’s for all of life.

Could it be that ‘love God, love one another’ are the two laws on which hang the laws for the non-religious things we do in life? Take business, for example. Are these two laws sufficient as a basis for business? Just for a moment, let’s consider the status of business in our culture today. Wouldn’t you agree that there is a general skepticism of the motives of business-people in our culture? And why shouldn’t there be? Business graduates are taught tactics which serve the profit motive exclusively, but where is universal truth- like love? It’s not found in the university. We have fulfilled C. S. Lewis’ prophecy: we graduate men and women with heads and with stomachs but lacking chests.

If we blindly employ business tactics which ensure a profit, but we have not love… are we not evil? Will our business not fail even in its success? But if we make the profit motive serve our two universal laws- to love God and love others, doesn’t the profit become good… even beautiful? The profit then serves the Greatest Good (God), the greater good (man) and the ox is not muzzled as he treads out the grain (one’s self). Take away love and the ox becomes obese as his fellow man starves- a situation which God certainly will not leave unpunished.

I would venture to say that our two laws will be just as effective when applied to any other ‘secular’ activity. Suddenly, we will find there are no ‘secular’ activities. Nothing is mundane or purposeless. The ugliness of human pride and self aggrandizement retreat, giving way to a type of competitiveness which edifies all involved. Yes, I believe that loving God and loving others leads to true excellence in whatever one chooses to do. Love is not just theoretical. It’s not merely religious. It’s practical. It’s effective.