Jesus, speaking to a group of Jews in Matthew 22, did something interesting.
He was answering questions from experts in the law, based on the old testament, and I believe it worked because it was poetically correct.
He "bookends" "You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your mind, and all of your soul" with "You shall love your neighbor as yourself "
If you read this like Yoda, it starts to make sense.
"Your self, as your neighbor, you shall love."
IF I am to love anyone else, I FIRST must love myself.
The bit in the middle, that the "This is the first commandment, and the second is like it" is Hebrew poetry which means you can and should read it both ways.
FIRST You love yourself as your neighbor loves you. Your soul, mind, and heart, all of you, is what God Loves FIRST.
