Love Thy Self

By Anonymous -
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! II Timothy 3:2-5

There are no verses in the Bible that say we should love ourselves. That is because we have no problem with it, it comes naturally. The Bible does say to love others the same way we love ourselves. Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, 33, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14

Really lessons 4 - the end of the Bible study boils it down to two choices; Love God or Love Self. If you love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength - loving others will be second nature. If you love yourself with all your heart, mind, soul and strength there won't be any love to go around. Everything and everyone under that love life would be subject to pleasing you, not you serving them and pleasing God.

Look out for the needs of others, esteem others above self...(based on Phillipians 2:3-4) No one is good in and of himself - (based on Romans 3:10-18, 23).

Lessons 4-9 have been taking me through the process of listing areas of sin in my life and writing down what God's word says about them. Working through the putting-off of sin and putting-on of right living. To be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), being obedient, knowing and living the will of God.

It is never easy to write out your lameness. It is also not easy to realize the only thing keeping your from changing from not pleasing God to seeking to please him according to His word - is you. Now I stare at my list knowing I choose to please God or myself. There are not crutches, not excuses. I, Elizabeth, daily choose to either love/serve God or love/serve myself.

In Christ,
Elizabeth

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