The Benefits of Loving Others 2

The Benefits of Loving Others

By Apostle Felix

24  A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 

Proverbs 18: 2

Friends are a part of every person’s life. You cannot go through life without ever having friends. Friends contribute a lot to your life. Whom you hang around with plays a role in the shaping of your character and the direction of your life. No policeman can have thieves and robbers for friends. Such a policeman is liable for interrogation. Show me your friends, and I will know who you are. Your friends reflect your character.

24  Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
25  Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul. 

Proverbs 22: 24, 25

If a bad friend can be such a negative influence on one’s life, then a good friend can be of great benefit. Therefore, choosing friends wisely is vital to securing a better life. The Bible tells us to love everybody, both our friends and enemies, but it does not tell us to befriend everyone. Loving people is different from befriending people. It is possible to love everyone, but it is not possible to be a friend of everyone. It is mandatory to love people; however, friends are selected. Loving people is compulsory, but friendships are selective. There are certainly benefits to loving people. Let us look at some of the benefits of loving people.

34  “So I give you now a new commandment: Love each other just as much as I have loved you.
35  For when you demonstrate the same love I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you’re my true followers.”

John 13: 34, 35

One of the benefits of loving others is that it helps us to find good friends. This is because we attract who we are. If one is mean, one will attract mean people around. If you need good friends, be good to people first. This does not mean that we have to befriend everyone, but we have to present ourselves friendly to attract friends. It is not possible to be aloof and expect to have friends.

Another benefit of loving others is that you reflect God in your life. You cannot claim to be like God when you are antagonistic. You cannot claim to love God when you cannot love people around you, whom you can see.

20  Anyone can say, “I love God,” yet have hatred toward another believer. This makes him a phony, because if you don’t love a brother or sister, whom you can see, how can you truly love God, whom you can’t see? 

1 John 4: 20

Loving other people makes us effective ministers. It is not possible to minister to people effectively if you do not love people. Jesus was moved with compassion and ministered to the people. Ministry will be very mechanical without love. It will be like a robot ministering to people without feelings involved. Love should be the motivation for all we do.