This is not a long passage. It is not complex in language or style. And yet it contains the distilled heart of the Yehoshuai Faith. This is the moral nucleus, the compass point by which all action is judged. If JAH’S BOOK had to be reduced to a single moral law, it would be this: live LOVE, and do no harm.

The Summary of CHRIST’S Ethics is not a theological treatise—it is a rule for life. It is a filter through which every thought, word, and deed must pass. In this short passage, the highest ethic of Yehoshuai is made radically clear and terrifyingly simple.

Let us unfold it line by line.

LINE 1

"If anything you say or do abuses or mistreats JAH, other people, yourself, animals, or the earth, don’t do it."

Here is the clearest boundary in all of Yehoshuai. It is a prohibition not based in religious law or tribal custom but rooted in universal empathy and responsibility.

Notice the five categories of moral concern:

  1. JAH – the divine.

  2. Other people – human community.

  3. Yourself – your inner world and body.

  4. Animals – non-human life.

  5. The earth – the environment and creation.

This is a radical expansion of traditional religious morality. Many systems concern themselves only with human relationships or divine ritual. But here, the moral scope is cosmic. All life is sacred. All of creation is included.

If your action harms any of these five—don’t do it. This is not conditional. There are no caveats. There is no “unless they deserve it.” This is an absolute command against all forms of mistreatment and abuse.

And it includes speech. What you say matters. Your language can wound, curse, degrade, or uplift. The ethic of Yehoshuai begins in the mouth.

This first line is the firewall against sin. It places the burden of awareness and accountability on the individual.

Ask yourself before any decision: Who or what could this harm?

LINE 2

"Instead be driven to live LOVE."

Here is the pivot. Yehoshuai is not only about negation—not only “don’t do harm.” It is about active goodness.

To “live LOVE” is not a vague feeling. It is a command to be driven by the power of divine care. To make LOVE your engine. To let LOVE steer the car, push the pedals, and determine the destination.

LOVE is not something you visit. It is your residence. It is your mode of being.

The word “driven” is important. It implies that LOVE is not merely a principle you believe in—it is the force that compels you. This is about momentum. Motivation. Direction.

Yehoshuai calls not just for moral behavior, but for transformed desire.

LINE 3

"Let only LOVE, mercy, empathy, and goodness motivate you, as you choose CHRIST in all you do."

This line closes the loop of the ethic. It gives us the four-fold foundation of moral motivation:

  1. LOVE – the essence of GOD.

  2. Mercy – the action of LOVE toward the undeserving.

  3. Empathy – the ability to feel what others feel.

  4. Goodness – the will to act on LOVE, even when it costs you.

These four are not simply virtues. They are requirements. They are what you must be motivated by. No other motives are valid—not ambition, vengeance, guilt, greed, fear, or pride.

The final clause seals the ethic with its Christocentric core: “as you choose CHRIST in all you do.”

To choose CHRIST is to choose LOVE in real time, every time. It means that CHRIST is not only your savior but your model. It means you ask of every act: Is this in the spirit of the one who washed feet, forgave enemies, and gave his life?

This is not about perfection. It is about direction. Yehoshuai does not demand flawlessness—but it does demand that your compass is set.

“Choose CHRIST in all you do” means: let your ethics be soaked in the spirit of CHRIST. Let your business, your speech, your relationships, your politics, your silence, your spending, your laughter, your sorrow, your rest, your rage—all of it—be guided by the one who is LOVE incarnate.

THEOLOGICAL THEMES

  • Universal responsibility – The ethic encompasses all realms: divine, personal, interpersonal, animal, and ecological.

  • Prohibitive and prescriptive – It forbids harm and commands LOVE.

  • Motivational transformation – True holiness lies not just in actions, but in motives.

  • Christocentrism – CHRIST is both the model and the goal of ethical living.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FROM THIS TEXT

  • At the start of each day, pray: “Let only LOVE, mercy, empathy, and goodness motivate me.”

  • Before making any major decision, ask: Does this abuse or mistreat anyone or anything?

  • Each night, reflect: Did I choose CHRIST in all I did today?

  • Memorize this entire three-line passage and recite it before meals, work, or sleep.

FINAL REFLECTION

The Summary of CHRIST’S Ethics is both gentle and fierce. It is gentle in its tone—simple, loving, warm. And yet it is fierce in its demand. It does not allow for compartmentalized righteousness. It does not let you keep your cruelty or your apathy hidden behind spiritual slogans.

If you abuse anyone—even yourself—you are violating the law of LOVE. If you act without mercy, empathy, or goodness—you are not choosing CHRIST.

But if you choose LOVE—even clumsily, even imperfectly—you are aligned with the GOD who IS LOVE.

Let these three lines govern your life like gravity. Let them be the law that liberates you. Let them be the light that shows you how to walk, even in darkness.

Amen.