"As the commandments are to love God above all else and others as “YOURSELF”.
If you don’t love yourself, you are refusing to see the wonderful creation of God that you are, who he loves."
This. Learning to love ourselves (and even to like ourselves, which is different!). Learning that all love comes from God because He is Love, and the love we have for ourselves and others comes straight from Him. As we grow closer to Him, we learn to love as He does.
I don't actually think anyone hates themselves "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, (Eph 5:29)
While hating ourselves is not the same as not loving ourselves, we must realize that to love ourselves is normal and anyone who does not love himself is mentally disturbed.
Yet the first thing Christ and John the Baptist and the Apostles said was to "repent", which is to change from what we are like to what God wants us to be like.
This also is not the same as not loving yourself, but we change to God's way of life as that is how we are to love ourselves, and God and other people.
Ignorance of how to love others and God is also ignorance of how to love ourselves.
So if we don't know God we effectively don't know how to love ourselves or others.
God loves us, and if we love him in return he will open our eyes to know how to truly love others and ourselves, and the truth shall may you free from effectively not loving yourself due to ignorance of how to live.
We may try to love God and others and ourselves, but without God we can't love anyone.
The key word is “choose”… I love that you wrote “choose to see the good…” which reminds me that there’s always a choice to see things good and not so good as a gift. I need to practice a new daily mantra “I am worthy.” ✝️
"As the commandments are to love God above all else and others as “YOURSELF”.
If you don’t love yourself, you are refusing to see the wonderful creation of God that you are, who he loves."
This. Learning to love ourselves (and even to like ourselves, which is different!). Learning that all love comes from God because He is Love, and the love we have for ourselves and others comes straight from Him. As we grow closer to Him, we learn to love as He does.
I don't actually think anyone hates themselves "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, (Eph 5:29)
While hating ourselves is not the same as not loving ourselves, we must realize that to love ourselves is normal and anyone who does not love himself is mentally disturbed.
Yet the first thing Christ and John the Baptist and the Apostles said was to "repent", which is to change from what we are like to what God wants us to be like.
This also is not the same as not loving yourself, but we change to God's way of life as that is how we are to love ourselves, and God and other people.
Ignorance of how to love others and God is also ignorance of how to love ourselves.
So if we don't know God we effectively don't know how to love ourselves or others.
God loves us, and if we love him in return he will open our eyes to know how to truly love others and ourselves, and the truth shall may you free from effectively not loving yourself due to ignorance of how to live.
We may try to love God and others and ourselves, but without God we can't love anyone.
True!
The key word is “choose”… I love that you wrote “choose to see the good…” which reminds me that there’s always a choice to see things good and not so good as a gift. I need to practice a new daily mantra “I am worthy.” ✝️
For sure, it’s very helpful, thank you for the lovely comment.
Good message.