The Kindness Challenge for Today: Friday of the Third Week of Lent

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." Mark 12:30

In the Gospel for Friday of the Third Week of Lent (Mark 12:28-34), a scribe, someone who knows and has studied Jewish law, asks Jesus a seemingly simple question:

“Which is the first of all the commandments?” (Mark 12:28)

Jesus doesn’t give just one commandment, he gives two. First, he quotes the Shema from Deuteronomy (6:4-5): “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

Then He adds a second commandment from Leviticus (19:18): “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Powerful words, so important, and yet so difficult to live out.

In first-century Judea, Jewish leaders often debated the greatest commandment because the Torah contained 613 laws: 248 positive (what to do) and 365 negative (what to avoid). Rabbis often discussed which laws were “heavy” (important) and which were “light” (less important).

At the time, the Pharisees emphasized strict adherence to the law, sometimes at the expense of mercy and love. Many religious leaders were caught up in external rituals of sacrifices, purity laws, and temple offeringsand they sometimes would lose sight of why they obeyed the law in the first place: to love God and care for others.

Jesus' answer was revolutionary because:

He brought two commandments together, linking love of God and love of neighbor as equal.

He shifted the focus from external rituals to internal transformation. Loving God is not about rule-keeping alone but about a deep relationship that shapes how we treat others.

Loving God First: A Daily Struggle

To love God above all else in today’s world is not easy. There are so many things that demand our attention: our work, our worries, our distractions. It’s easy for our relationship with God to become just another thing on the to-do list, rather than the foundation of everything we do.

And then there’s the second commandment: to love our neighbor as ourselves. That one sounds simple, but in reality? We often forget it.

Do We Treat Others the Way We Want to Be Treated?

If I were to write a list of how I want to be treated, it would include:

With kindness.
With honesty.
With patience.
With understanding.
With respect.

But if I reflect on my actions, do I offer those same things to others, especially to those I don’t like, or to strangers, or when I’m tired and frustrated?

How often do we expect kindness from others, yet justify our own lack of kindness?

Jesus’ words cut through our excuses. Loving God and loving others are not separate things, they go hand in hand. When we love our neighbor, we are loving God.

A Challenge for Today

This Lent, let’s not just read about these commandments, let’s live them.

How can I make loving God my priority today?
Where is God calling me to show love, even when it’s difficult?
Am I treating others the way I want to be treated?

Loving God and loving others is the heart of our faith. Jesus says that when we do this, we are “not far from the Kingdom of God.”
Let our actions today bring us closer.