This sermon is on the results of failing to love God.  Our text is Matt 22:35-40.  However, we will check some other references in the Bible to see the results of failing to love God.  

The first and great commandment is to love the Lord.  This commandment hasn’t changed.  It’s still true today.  And it shouldn’t be difficult to obey.  1 Jn 4:19 says, we love him because he first loved us.  He initiated his love and we simply reciprocate it.  

Furthermore, when we are saved, we have the fruit of the Spirit.  The first aspect of his fruit is love.  And this fruit helps us to love God and to fulfill the second commandment, to love our neighbors.  In 1 Cor 13:4-8, we find the great qualities of charity that stem from the love of God.

The failure to love God is at the root of many problems.  It’s at the root of:

Societal problems. In 2 Tim 3:4, people today are “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God”.  And this love of pleasures is destroying our society.  According to Heb 11:25 you can only enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.  As a matter of fact seeking those pleasures in sinful pursuits turns people into “haters of God”, Rom 1:30.  And no political, economic, or social solution can remedy this problem.  Men must be lovers of God.

Marital problems. In Eph 5:25 husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church.  And in Titus 2:4, young women must be taught to love their husbands.  These are not the natural love of human nature, but rather the love that grows from the love of God.  

Remember the illustration of the triangle of love with Christ at the top and the husband and wife in the lower corners. The closer they are to the Lord, the closer they are to each other.  Col 3:14 says, “and above all these things put on charity which is the bond of perfectness”.

Family problems. In Matt 10:37 Jesus said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me”.  In families, we must always love God more than our family.  When family problems begin, people generally turn more attention to the family than to the Lord.  And this is a mistake.

In 2 Tim 3:2 children in these times are “disobedient to parents”.  And in Mal 4:6 Elijah “shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers”.  The pressure on families before Jesus returns increases.  Therefore, our love for God must increase.

Personal problems. In 2 Tim 3:2 men are “lovers of their own selves”.  But the two great commands are to love God and love others.  This takes your mind off of yourself.  If you want joy remember this: J.O.Y.  Jesus first.  Others second.  Yourself last.  People who love themselves more than God and others are miserable.

Conclusion: the solution we can offer for societal problems is to lead more souls to Jesus Christ and show them to love God.  And when you see marital, family, and personal problems in your life, check your love of God.  It may be that the root of the problems is failing to love God.  If that’s the case, then love God more.