THE “DO UNTO OTHERS” PRINCIPLE: THE KEY TO RECEIVING GODLY LOVE
Religious people typically find church relationships and communal singing to be the most satisfying reasons for attendance. For Christians, church is the one place you can always go to feel like you belong and that people care for you. These feelings may not be articulated as love, but when religious people say they “love” their church, their church relationships, communal traditions and music, these are the features of church that keep them returning regularly. Music in particular is able to inspire emotions that most religious people equate with being touched by God’s love. Here is what Perplexity.ai reports on these relationships:

Religious individuals often equate music with being touched by God’s love. Music is seen as a powerful medium that can evoke deep spiritual experiences and emotions, akin to feeling the presence of God. The connection between music and spirituality is evident in various religious traditions where music plays a significant role in worship and expressing faith.

In Christianity, music is frequently used as a form of worship, with songs and hymns serving as a means to express religious affections and truths that align with God’s word. The act of singing praises to God through music is believed to move and express one’s affections towards the divine. This connection between music and spirituality is further emphasized by the close relationship between music and religion throughout history, with music often being used as a vehicle for worshiping God.

While some may view God as a fictional concept and music as mere sound waves, for many individuals, especially those who find deep meaning, comfort, and joy in music, the experience of music can be akin to experiencing God. Music is seen as a unifying force that transcends cultural differences and brings people together, much like the way spiritual faith can unite individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Overall, the profound impact of music on spiritual experiences has led many to draw parallels between the emotional depth elicited by music and the presence of God in their lives. This connection underscores the significance of music as a metaphor for expressing and experiencing divine love and spirituality.

Also see this link for more on the power of ritual interactions in religious music to arouse emotions

What religious people seek through religion and music is a spiritual encounter with God. Since God is love, encounters inspired by religious activity are wrongly  interpreted as acts of Godly love. These interpretations are wrong because the only way God interacts with people is through their hearts. Emotions experienced in the physical body are flesh — not spirit. Spirit and flesh experiences are two different kinds of experiences.

If we could see our hearts as God sees them we would understand that religious people seek these experiences repeatedly for purely selfish reasons: They satisfy religious people in many ways:

1. 1. Spiritual Connection: The primary reason people attend religious services is to feel closer to God. Six-in-ten individuals indicate this as the most important reason for attending church because they do not differentiate between spirit and fleshly emotions.
   2. Community and Tradition: Attending religious services provides a sense of community with others who share the same beliefs and a connection to longstanding traditions. Religious people have not studied their bible to know how God feels about traditions.
   3. Emotional Support: People find comfort in troubling times, seek moral guidance for themselves and their children, value sermons, and feel a religious obligation, all contributing to their satisfaction with church attendance. Because they trust their friends and church institutions — not God — for comfort, guidance and religious teaching, surrogates for God are idols.
   4. Social Interaction: Young adults often attend for social reasons, such as meeting new people or socializing, while older age groups focus more on spiritual growth and tradition.
   5. Job Satisfaction: Research suggests that frequent church attendance, especially at congregations emphasizing the integration of faith and work, can lead to higher job satisfaction and commitment.
   6. Happiness and Well-being: Regular churchgoers tend to be happier than others, with religious participation promoting positive actions, attitudes, generosity, and a sense of purpose in life.
   7. Belonging and Family: Church attendance fosters meaningful relationships within the church family, providing support, encouragement, and a sense of belonging.

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When we look at the benefits of church attendance, we can’t help but notice that all the benefits accrue to the church-goer and religious leaders. Self-sacrifice is not a factor unless payment of financial tithes and offerings that God does not want are considered but . These facts expose motives that are the exact opposite of what it means to love your neighbor. They are also inconsistent with sacrificial love.

The above facts are critical to understand for people who hope to fulfill God’s command to love your neighbor. It is also necessary to understand that it is impossible to give away something you have not received and possess. This is true in the spiritual realm just like it is true in the physical realm. In other words, you cannot love your neighbor with Godly love if you have not received Godly love and possess it in your heart. The following scriptures say this in several ways:

• Matthew 7:9-12  “Or what person is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone? 10 “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 “So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

INTERPRETATION: All of God’s spiritual laws can be summarized as doing to others as you would have them do to you. The “do unto others” principle disqualifies the legitimacy of all religion. In other words, if you reject religion and treat others the way you want to be treated (i.e. you want to receive Godly love),  you will will receive the ultimate good gift from God: Godly love.

• Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

INTERPRETATION: This does not appear in the Ten Commandments in so many words. Nevertheless, it is a precise summary of the collection of all commandments. If we understand the benefits of Godly love, we desire  to receive those benefits in all our relationship interactions. If we do not understand Godly love, the best we can hope for is some facsimile of human love.

• Romans 13:8 Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

INTERPRETATION: In God’s eyes we are not indebted to him for anything (including religion) except to love our neighbors with Godly — not human — love. When we do this we satisfy all God’s other commandments.

• Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

INTERPRETATION: It is possible for people to do harm to people they sincerely love with human love. If we are honest with ourselves we know that we have been both the victim of people who love us and have harmed people we sincerely love. That is the weakness of human love. This verse says that Godly love does no harm to anyone and guarantees that when we share Godly love we have fulfilled all of God’s commandments.

• Galatians 5:14 The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

INTERPRETATION: This affirms again that when we love our neighbor as we love ourself we satisfy all of God’s laws and are eligible to receive his spiritual gifts as a reward.

• • • Grace.
    • Holy spirit.
    • New heart and new spirit.
    • Ability to hear his spoken voice
    • Eternal life.
    • Faith
    • Ability to speak for God.
    • An assortment of spiritual gifts.
    • Rest
    • Enter into the Promised Land

• James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

INTERPRETATION: “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the royal law. Religious laws are human laws — not the royal law. Obedience to human laws and religious laws does not satisfy God’s command to love your neighbor.

Most people crave human love. Some will make great sacrifices to get it or something that passes for human love. People who do not know Godly love in their hearts hunger and thirst for it. But they do not know what it is or how to get it — except through religion. And so they do everything they have been taught to do to get human love, respect , acceptance, and maybe a touch from God.  This strategy works to a point, but it never really satisfies their hunger and thirst for Godly love. What they really want and need is love, joy and peace in their hearts. As a result, their hearts and their bodies never rest from striving to gain Godly love. Religion promises to show the way to Godly love but cannot deliver on its promises because religious people only have religious laws in their hearts  — not Godly love.

There is a clear process to follow to experience Godly love:

1. Compare Pure Religion and Defiled Religion
2. Disassociate from Old/First Covenant religion in all its forms.
3. Resolve to be a New Covenant disciple.
4. Develop as many relationships as possible with New Covenant disciples.
5. Listen to hear God’s voice  while studying the bible.
6. Love your neighbor whenever you can, wherever you can.
7. Watch for evidence of God’s love in your heart.
8. Watch for evidence of the world becoming a better place.

The point of this process is this: If you disengage from religion and share Godly live with others, you will experience Godly love in your heart and the world will become a better place. Being religious is not a requirement for sharing God’s love.