UNIT 3: THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT
Key Unit competence: Assess the practice of supreme commandment
and the Golden rule in various religious
teachings
Introductory Activity
Read attentively the answer given by Jesus to the one who asked Him
about the supreme Commandment of God “Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with your mind? This is the first and
the greatest commandment. The second is like it: love your neighbor as
yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments”
(Matthew 22:35-40).
Assess how all commandment linked with these two above Commandments
a) Decalogue
God is love 1John4:8. God who is one and Triune lives communion of
Love as Paul said “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of
God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (2Corinthians
13:13). When the man fell God did not abandon him. He called Abraham
and communicated him the plan of Salvation. He liberated the Abraham’s
descendants from Egyptian slavery. God concluded Alliance with His people
at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:7-25) and the Sign of that Alliance is the Ten
Commandments of God known as Decalogue (Exodus 20: 3-17). Below arethe ten commandments of God and the values we get from:
God ordered Moses to prepare two stone tablets like the former ones in order
God rewrite on the words that were on the broken ones. The commandments
of God were then in two categories:
The commandments for the relationship between God and people
According to Godfrey E.N. Nsubuga, this category groups the first four
commandments that talks about God’s instructions to Israelites about spiritual
activities: monotheistic way of praying God, worshiping and honouring Him
(GODFREY E.N. NSUBUGA: 2016, p6)
The commandments for the relationship between people and people
There are six commandments about morality, social relationship: Children
responsibilities, respect of human life, respect of marriage and sexual
chastity. Without consider the categories of the commandments we findeach commandment in two dimensions: Obligations shown by imperativeverb for example: honour your father and your mother and the prohibited orforbidden shown by shall not for example: You shall not murder
3.2. The Greatest Commandment
a) Greatest Commandment into the Old Testament
The Old Testament also talks about the double greatest commandment of
God: Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord one! Love the Lord your
God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength”
(Deuteronomy 6:4-6).
This commandment is not only limited to love for God but also it has to be
prove to our neighbour as it is commended in book of Leviticus “you shalllove your neighbour as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18)
b) Greatest Commandment into the New Testament
When a lawyer and expert of the law asked Jesus what the most important
Commandment is Jesus responded: Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with your mind. This is the first and the
greatest commandment. The second is like it: love your neighbour as
yourself. (Matthew 22:35-40). All the law and the prophets hang on these
two commandments”
Richard comments the first part of the greatest commandment like this:
With all your heart: never hide anything form God. He is your best
confidant; trust God with your heart. He will give you wisdom and direction,
keep commandments into your heart and be moral “If you love me, keep my
commandments” (John14:15).
With all your soul: display the fruits of self-control and having a humble
spirit. A balance between spiritual life, dogmas of your beliefs, feelings,
emotions, and daily life is necessary.
With all your mind: renew your mind with the Word of God and do everything
consciously.
With all your strength: ask from God to give you the supernatural strength
to do what God is calling you to do. Do what you have to do beyond how youfell.
Love your neighbour as yourself: before we love others we must know that
we are loved. God loved us before: we must first receive God who is love
and then we love others for God who is inside us (Philippians 2:13). Bernock
confirms “Before we can give this love we need to receive it ourselves.
You can not give what you do not have”. We remember a clear meaning
of the one who is our neighbour was given by Jesus in a parable of Good
Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37). Referring to the Bible, Bernock identified some
characteristics of loving your neighbour:
• Acting with compassion
• Looking out for neighbours’ wellbeing (1Corinthians13:1-13)
• Serving from heart that means kindness (1Corinthians13:4)
• Speak kindly
• Sharing joy and sorrow: rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with
those who mourn (Romans 12:15
• Forgiving (Ephesians 1:4)
Jesus shows love as new and greatest commandment and as a tangible
mark of His disciple “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples”
(John13:35).
3.3. The Golden rule in various religions
Barikunda is a student-teacher in one of Rwanda teacher training college.
He is clever and talented. He never explains courses to his time taker
classmates. He thinks he will be the first and almost alone to get scholarship
for University then he will serve God and the society. He always becomes
jealous against his some classmates who try their best to succeed and he
celebrates the failure of time taker ones. Study the case and thereafteradvise him about good service to God and to the society.
3.3.1. Golden rule in Islam
Golden rule in Islam is as an ethics of reciprocity which refers to an Islamic
moral principle that calls upon people to treat others the way they would
like to be treated (Abu Amina Elias: 2013). The Oxford dictionary defines the
golden rule as any form of the dictum: do unto others as you would havethem do unto you (Oxford English Dictionary: 1989).
Several times Muhammad PBUH stated the Golden rule as reported by
disciples: None of you has faith until he loves for his brother or his neighbour
what he loves for himself (sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 72)
Sahih Muslim: refers to authentic source of reported information
• The servant does not reach the reality of faith until he loves for the
people what he loves for himself of goodness (Sahih Ibn Hibban, Book
of faith, Number 238).
• Whoever would be delighted to be delivered from the hellfire and
entered into Paradise, then let him die with faith in Allah and the last
Day, and let him treat the people the way he would love to be treated (
Musnad Ahmad, Number 6768, Sahih).
• The words said by Abu Huraira (May Allah be pleased with Him) were
reported: be kind to your neighbour and you will be a believer; love
for the people what you love for yourself and you will be a muslim(By Al-Bukhali, Ali-Adab Al-Mufrad, Number 260, Hasan) in Sunan AtTirmidhi, Book of Asceticism, Number 2305, Sahih
3.3.2. Golden rule in Judaism
The value of empathy is deeply rooted in Jewish everyday’s life. Rabbi Tzvi
Nightingale recounts: Judaism depends on the ability to view another person
as real as oneself. For Judaism believers, to understanding God’s Word
cannot begin without the recognition that a person next to me is just a real
as me; that another person travelling through life has the self and same
experience of love, pain, hurt and joy from the ups and downs as the life
that I strongly and seriously experienced (Rabbi Tzvi Nightingale: 2018).
The Talmud shows that the Torah mainly rolls on Golden rule as Rabbi Tzvi
Nightingale continues:
A gentile came to Shammai Jewish school (50-30 before Christian era)
requesting a quickie conversation to Judaism. He asked to be taught the
entire Torah while standing on one foot. Shammai (master and founder of
that school) had no patience for the ridiculous and disrespectful request and
chased him out of the study hall. Unworried, the gentile then proceeded to
visit Shammai’s colleague Hillel with the same request. Hillel instructed him
“Whatever is hateful and distasteful to you, do not do to your fellow man” thisis the entire Torah, the rest is commentary. Go learn
What does Talmud mean? The Talmud is source form which the code
of Jewish (Law) is delivered. It is made up of the Mishnah and Gemara:
Mishnah refers to original written version of the oral law while Gemara
becomes record of the rabbinic discussions (Their different views) on the
Mishnah. It can clearly be defined as the central text of Rabbinic Judaism
and the primary source of Jewish religious law and Jewish theology.The Hebraic word Rabbi refers to teachers or masters
3.3.3. Golden rule in Christianity
The Golden rule is defined as ethical principle of treating other people
as one’s self would prefer to be treated. Biblically the Golden rule is
founded in two synoptic Gospels Matthew and Luke: So in everything, do to
others what you would have them do to you, for this sum up the law and the
Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Similarly, Luke said “Do to others as you would
have them do to you” Luke 6:31
Brannon Deibert defined it in moral context: the golden rule covers the
empathic essence of morality. It is a simple yet powerful way of saying that
we should recognize the respective dignity of our fellow man and not forget
we all are capable of inflicting immoral actions.
The golden rule particularly, guides the Christian relationships and interactionsand social life in general.
Importance of Golden rule
The Golden rule
• Teaches us to adopt self-discipline and kindness
• Guides principles of all morality
• Comprises all the rules and all precepts given by the Prophets
• Instructs us to put ourselves in our neighbours’ place and guides our
behaviours accordingly.So, Golden rule is a vital emphasis on empathy and the reciprocity of morality
Examples of Golden rule
• Put yourself in others’ shoes (empathy): is known as ability to
understand, receive, feel and share others’ emotions, situation or what
they are experiencing.
• Do not do unto others as you would not want done to you (known
as the Silver Rule) it is like an inverse of the Golden Rule to remind usto not do what we would prefer not to happen to ourselves.
- Reciting a prayer of St Francis of Assisi plants values in children
- “Lord make me an instrument of your peace;
- Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
- Where there is injury, pardon;
- Where there is discord, union;
- Where there is doubt, faith;
- Where there is despair, hope;
- Where there is darkness, light;
- Where there is sadness, joy”.
- “O Divine Master
- Grant that I may not so much seek
- To be consoled, as to console;
- To be understood, as to understand;
- To be loved, as to love;
- For it is in giving that we receive,
- It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and
- It is in dying that we are born to eternal life”
- Amen
evangelizes by good works in order the world that surrounds them see their
good deeds and glorify the Father in Heaven (Matthew5:6). The Prayer of
Francis of Assisi reminds us just how we can do that. It is an uplifting prayer
that teaches us how we can live like Jesus Christ and serve those around
us, putting others needs first. God wants us we feel and prove love for Him
through our neighbours as condition to live communion with Him “ No one
has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and Hislove is perfected in us (1John4:12).
3.4. End unit assessment
1. How should you observe the supreme Commandment of God at
school and at home?
2. Assess the doctrinal similarities on Golden rule between Judaism,
Christianity and Islam
3. Classify the Commandments of God according to their categories
and their dimensions
4. How can the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi be important at your
school? Justify your answers.
5. What do you understand by the word Talmud?
