When it comes to the 2nd great commandment to love others (Matt. 22:39) we have a much greater responsibility to show active love when someone is in our care. Below are three examples of this.
We are under a higher obligation with respect to our family and housemates. If you have a problem with angry outbursts or other habits harmful to the wellbeing of your family or housemates (for example, substance abuse, gambling, infidelity, insensitivity, wide mood swings, etcetera) then you are under great obligation to break that habit.
Unfortunately, many neglect this obligation but God will not. Such people will suffer loss on judgment day (Col. 3:25; 2 John 1:8). One’s obligation in this situation includes finding someone to help them if they cannot break the habit themselves within a few months. Many think they are fulfilling their responsibility just because they want to break a habit and sometimes make a real effort to break it. But unless it is actually broken are we not under obligation to continue to humble ourselves and find someone with experience in this area who has been successful in helping people break that habit? Please do not neglect to do this since you are hurting people in your household simply out of your prideful resistance to finding help.
Another area of temptation for some is in the business world. Business owners or executives of other organizations are sometimes tempted to skimp on wages or salaries to employees in order to save more income for themselves. An owner may even justify this in their mind by thinking that the extra income allows them to give more to ministries. But obviously, skimping on wages is a very repulsive practice even for a non-Christian. An owner’s primary responsibility is to bless their employees. If there are extra profits, then the employees should benefit. There would be no extra profits without the employees. And every employee is just as valuable to God as the owner. What will such an owner say on the day when God judges their life? (For example, Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10.) If there any profits at all, Christians owners should pay their employees above the average wage and treat them as they would treat Jesus (see Matthew 25:31-46).
Finally, caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ includes speaking up when someone in leadership is misleading or mistreating them. For example, if a minister often displays a harsh oppositional attitude when presented with matters that are disagreeable to them, then members of the congregation need to speak up. It may be best to talk to an elder in the church. Not only does this honor God’s words to be “admonishing one another in all wisdom” (Col. 3:16, ESV) but it protects his children from the faults of leaders.
