First Order

Love God. Love neighbor. God, with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. My neighbor, as myself. God's kingdom has an economy of love and trust. Love is the gift of self.

Love of God is primary in both the Old Covenant and the New. My gift of self to God looks like humility, surrender, and heart obedience. This sets the map for Jesus' close-second command, loving myself and my neighbor.

Flipping this order can lead to worldly, fleshly, ungodly concepts of love, expressed in legalism and license. Since God is love, genuine love cannot be un-God-like, un-Jesus-like.