In Matthew 22:35-39, a lawyer comes to Jesus and wants to know what is the greatest commandment. Jesus responds saying, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." In this passage, Jesus gives us the order in which we are to love:
#1 Love God
#2 Love You
#3 Love Others
There is nothing wrong with loving you. It's not selfish. Instead, it's a command given to us by God. First, He tells us that we should love Him with everything that is within us. Then, He tells us to love others as we love ourself. So, in order to effectively love others, we must love ourself.
Loving ourself is natural. No one is born with a low self esteem. Babies don't care about what they are wearing or what others think of them. Toddlers don't compare themselves to others or hate themselves. So what causes us to lose the innocence of self-love and self-worth? Why do we begin to lower the value that God has placed on us? From my own experience, I know of at least three self-love killers - guilt and shame, comparing yourself to others, and lies.
Adam and Eve were so overcome with guilt and shame, they tried hiding from God. When they ate the fruit from the tree God told them not to eat, their innocence was gone. They were always naked, but once they disobeyed God, they began to feel the shame that comes with nakedness. God forgave them and covered them up, but they still had to face the consequences and were kicked out of the Garden. Sin may feel good in the moment, but it always leaves behind a big mess. I bet that fruit tasted so juicy and sweet, but it cost Adam and Eve their relationship with God. Sin separates us from God, but when we repent, He forgives, and we are reunited. We no longer have to feel guilty or ashamed. If you have repented and you're still feeling guilty and ashamed, that is condemnation, and the Bible says that there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus! You are forgiven!
Comparing ourselves to others is another self-love destroyer. I'm not as good looking, smart, talented, athletic, you fill in the blank, as so and so. Who are you trying to measure up to anyway? This world or God? Our tool of measurement is the Bible, not the things of this world.
Then there are the lies. Someone says something about you that is untrue or maybe Satan tries to get you to believe something about God and yourself that is not true. Satan uses the same old tactics every time. He used them to trick 1/3 of the angels in Heaven, Adam and Eve, and now us. We have to recognize these lies and replace them with Truth. How do we find the Truth? The Word of God!
In God's eyes, you are fearfully and wonderfully made, delighted in, valuable, more than a conqueror, chosen, worth fighting for, set free, a new creation, loved. He loves you with an everlasting love and nothing can separate you from that love! So love HIM in return! Love His creation! YOU are his creation! Love YOU! As a result, you will love others!
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