Have you ever felt guilty or bad for pampering or treating yourself? Do you give so much love to other people around you and extraordinarily little love to yourself? If you ever feel that way, know that it is not okay.
In Galatians 5:14 (“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself”), we are instructed to love our neighbors just as we love ourselves. The Bible is an infinite book; we have certain laws we need to follow if we desire to build a good relationship with God. If I were with Jesus too, I would have also asked what commandment is the most important. Jesus’s answer was very straight forward when he was asked. He said, “The most important one, is this: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31).”
Often, we focus on loving our neighbors, which is good, but we forget to love ourselves, which is bad. The only way you can genuinely and rightly love your neighbors is to love yourself first. So, what is love? 1 Corinthians 13 boldly spells out what love is. It says, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is PATIENT, love is KIND. It does NOT ENVY, it does NOT BOAST, it is NOT PROUD. It does NOT DISHONOR OTHERS, it is NOT SELF-SEEKING, it is NOT EASILY ANGERED, it keeps NO RECORD OF WRONGS. Love does NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH. It always PROTECTS, always TRUSTS, always HOPES, always PERSEVERES. Love NEVER FAILS. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” It is not wrong to love yourself. If you follow the Bible’s guide on love for loving yourself, you will begin to love other people better. True love will become an innate character trait.
RECAP
Loving yourself is not a selfish act.
It is important to love yourself and take care of your emotional needs.
When you are able to take care of your emotional needs, you will be able to take care of your physical needs.
ACT
As you are planning to do nice things for your family in this Holiday season, do not exclude yourself. Instead, buy a gift for yourself too.
Eat more healthy foods, and exercise regularly.
Have honest conversations with yourself; ask yourself questions like what makes me happy and what makes me sad?
Talk to God; ask Him to help you love yourself in the right way.
Finally, make sure you are following all the safety guidelines to keep yourself safe from the virus.
Thank you.