Don't You Love Yourself Enough?

I was so glad to see the post below. It is exactly how I feel. I don't think Americans are short on "loving ourselves".


People often say this person or that person doesn't love themselves enough to stop being a drug addict, be anorexic, be drunk, be promiscuous, etc. It doesn't really make sense if you think about it a bit more. It is because we love ourselves and our own pleasure TOO MUCH. We don't do drugs, over eat, drink too much, be anorexic, because we don't love ourselves. It always start with making ourselves feel or look better (to ourselves or others). People don't become alcoholics or drug addicts because they don't love themselves enough. They drink (or do drugs) to make them selves feel better. We want to make ourselves feel better because we already DO love ourselves. We hear, you need to love your self more. This sounds a whole lot like "you have to look our for number 1, (or take care of yourself) nobody else will".


Is this Biblical at all?


Nope......

1. There is no command in Scripture to ‘love ourselves.’

- This scripture is not giving a command to ‘love thyself’ but could be translated ‘AS (you are loving) yourself.’

Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Matt 19:19

- The problem is we love ourselves TOO much.

2. The law was summed up in 2 commandments not 3 (which would be ‘love thyself‘).

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, 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 neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matt 22:36-40

3. We are commanded to DENY SELF, putting it to DEATH on the cross.

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matt 16:24-25

This article was found here.

I say it is time for Christians to start loving God more than themselves/their pleasure and to start loving our neighbors. Time to stop putting ourselves first (loving ourselves) and consider others.


God is so good though because putting others ahead of ourselves feels good too! What about you? Have you seen this in your life also? Please, leave a comment and let us know.

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go see what my neighbor needs! :-)