Why I Don’t Love Myself
“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:2-5
I have never felt more loved. Why? Not because I follow the well-meaning advice of countless counseling gurus and well-meaning friends who told me to love myself, but because I finally realized one of the biggest problems I’ve ever had. Loving myself. When I dug into God’s Word and found the biblical answer to love, and began to put it into practice, I found what I wish I had known all along.
Though there are countless ways to twist around God’s Word to fit our fleshly desires, including to convince ourselves that God commands us to love ourselves, I have not found one Bible verse that backs this up. What I have found from start to finish of the Bible is that God commands us to love Him and others (Luke 11:27). How? First, God loves us. Then, we love Him (1 John 4:19). Next, we love others. It all begins and ends with His love. But what about us? Shouldn’t we love ourselves? The only verse I have found regarding love of self makes it clear those submerged in self-love are bathed in sin. Christ followers are not taught to lavish ourselves with love, but to deny ourselves and follow Him.
Then aren’t we shortchanged? When I finally turned from focusing on self-love to loving God and others, I found myself overflowing with so much love I wouldn’t even have room to love myself if I could! For no human love, not even our own for ourselves, can compare with the love He offers us through faith in and a life committed to Christ.
Love Him. Love others. Enjoy the love you find in Him!