#9 Love Yourself
The story of the Good Samaritan is probably one of the most recognizable parables in the Bible. Basically, a man was robbed while on a journey and left to die on the side of the road. Begging for help, many people passed by him but only one stopped to help, giving him food, clothing, and shelter. Now, Jesus tells this parable in response to a question. A lawyer asks Him about inheriting eternal life. Jesus asks him about what the law says, and he answers with the following statement; “love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, strength, and love” your neighbor as yourself. Today, I want to focus on the last two words of his answer, "as thyself."
So, to love thy neighbor as thyself, a definition of love must be established. What in the world does love look like? Is it a physical expression, emotional stimulation, acts of kindness, what is love? Well, 1 Corinthians gives a good definition. "Love is patient and kind. It doesn't envy or boast. It's not proud, self-seeking, easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongdoing. It rejoices in truth, protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. It never fails." Taking this definition as a base, how are we supposed to treat our neighbors? Treat them with patience, kindness, don't envy them, or boast about yourself to them. Don't be prideful or help them just for gain. Don't be easily angered by/with them and keep no record of their wrongs. This seems simple enough, but it leads to another question, why is it so hard to do these things? Yes, people get on our last nerves and give us a million reasons, in ONE DAY, to not love them. However, sometimes we don't show love to those with whom we have the closest relationships. Showing love to strangers is one thing, but I figure it would be much easier to love people you intimately know.
Could it be possible that we find it difficult to love because we don't love ourselves as much as we would like? Looking at the scripture, "Love thy neighbor as thyself"; it makes me wonder what to do if I don’t love myself. I can't love my neighbor if I don't love myself. What does loving myself look like? Am I patient with myself? "Man, why am I the only person who can't seem to get this right?! Everybody else understands it but me." Am I kind to myself? "How could I be so stupid?! I knew that was a bad idea, but I did it anyway. This is exactly what I get for being dumb." Do I envy what others have because it would make me feel better about myself? "If only I could look like you or have your talents, I know people would like me more." Do I boast about my own skills to cover up insecurities? "Look at what I'm good at so you won't notice where I fail often." Do I help others just to gain the affirmations that make me whole? "I'll help you so that I can get something out of you later." Do I get angry with other people because I'm secretly angry with myself? "Where in the world am I supposed to go now?! God, nothing makes sense and I feel like I'm just wandering and waiting!"
We, as Christians, are not immune to the battles of loving ourselves and we don't always win them either. Even with the love of Christ, there are still moments where we don't think the best about ourselves or truly appreciate who God has created us to be. Instead, we ask him to remove flaws in order to make us better people, but in reality, we may just want to feel better about ourselves. Honestly, it almost seems more natural to see our flaws instead of our good qualities, creating difficulty in not only us loving ourselves but allowing other people to love us as well.
So, how in the world do we combat this?! How do we win these battles of self-love? Well, the first thing we have to accept is that we are absolutely broken people. We live in a world that is filled with negativity, and we suffer because of it. So, in a way, it is a part of you to think that way at times. You aren't any less of a Christian or any less saved because you struggle with this! Being broken is a part of existence, and there is no shame in struggling because we all do! With that being said, the moment you begin to feel negative about yourself, mentally remind yourself of who God made you to be. "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Psalm 139:14) God breathed his own spirit into man to create him. We didn't choose to be broken; we are products of a fallen man, but God still thinks so highly of us that his Spirit dwells in us! It dwells in you! A handcrafted masterpiece by Him!
Next, verbally remind yourself of who you are. "You are not dumb. Part of living life to the fullest is making mistakes and learning from them. You are on a journey with Christ, not to Him. You are a beautiful creation of God whose value was given by the creator. Somebody else doesn't have the power to assign you your value, for you are price. You were not given a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and a sound mind. Even though I'm imperfect, I'm still loved and accepted by my Father."
Lastly, be open with yourself about how you feel. There are many times when we hide from our own thoughts and feelings, placing them in the back of our minds in the hopes that they go away. Generally, they stay there and manifest themselves later on. However, the minute you decide to confront you about yourself, is the minute you begin to bring your thoughts and feelings under subjection. It will be uncomfortable and scary, but there is so much freedom in confronting yourself. God can meet you here and begin to heal that which has broken you.
Scriptures for the week:
Luke 10:25-37 (Parable of the Good Samaritan)
1 Corinthians 13 (What is Love)
Psalm 139:14 (God's Marvelous Creation)
May God bless you in all you do!
