"Love your God with all your heart" is in both the Old Testament and then extra emphasis is again put on it in the New Testament as "the first and greatest commandment."

Though the whole thing is ridiculous, and the topic reminds me of the litmus test Solomon put forward to determine who was a true parent and who was a false claimant.

The false parent in the Solomon story was the one who only cared about being recognized as the parent, even if that meant the child suffering as a result.

The true parent was the one who cared more about the child continuing to live as their complete unadulterated self, even if that meant never being known to the child at all.

And yet the tradition after that tale and then the surviving version of Christianity both claim to represent a divine parent that cares most about recognition even if it means its supposed children suffering to achieve that.

So no, the Bible explicitly does command readers to love God, but it does so on top of a layer of something radically different peeking through underneath.

What a system, it encourages bad behaviour and gives you an easy solution out? That's why it's fucked.

Only if there's a priest there to hear it! 👆