While the Bible does not specifically address this (to my recollection), it seems implicit that if we are to love God with all our might, and our neighbor as ourselves, then we must love ourselves. Otherwise, we have set a low bar for loving neighbor.
Do I love myself? Do you love you? I think the question is yes and no. Yes in regards to the things we like about ourselves, and no as to the things we do not like about ourselves. We are all sinners, and we do not like this about ourselves. We do not like it when we fall into sin. Sometimes, we are not even willing to admit that we are sinners, and we suppress the quiet voice of God who is asking us to work with him to address these sins.
The truth is – ours is a God who knew every sin that we would ever commit before the world was made. He loved us enough to bring us into existence despite this knowledge of our sinful ways. He loved us enough to send his son into the world to die for our sins. Yes, we are still sinners, but we have been forgiven.
Because of God’s love for us, we can stand in truth without collapsing under the weight of our sins. We can see ourselves for who we really are without an overwhelming sense of shame, but only if we balance this truth with an awareness of his unconditional love for us.
Let us spend some time today pondering God’s love and mercy. Let us invite him into our dark places where our true self resides. Let us pray to him to shed light, and to lead us to a place where we are not so tied to sin.
In Him,
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