An emotion that may stall our impulse to love our neighbor and instead feed our anger, hatred, and rage is fear. Fear is a primary emotion and serves us well when it comes to jumping off the edge of the Grand Canyon or out of a 20 story window. It may cause us to run and dive under an object in the face of a gunner. It can prevent us from putting a noose around our neck just to feel what it would feel like to hang. Fear may also prevent us, even paralyze us from acting on our behalf. It is a primary emotion that feeds secondary emotions of anger, hatred, and rage. When it does, we cannot move to love our neighbor. One of the important steps in loving our neighbor is reaching out to the other. If we fail to reach out to another person, we cannot get to know the other person and learn to love them for who they are. They and you languish as a result. You must form a relationship with someone to love them. You need to know how, in what way, you know someone to love them. Do they need food or clothes, medical care, or our personal attention? Are they bringing you a surprise like one of the angels in the Old Testament? Are they likely to be a good friend? Whenever we drop our guard, our fear to find out who the stranger is and form a relationship with the person as a person who deserves to be known and loved for their own sake.
